What if
by Destineehope10
Summary: What if Dimitri never got turned? But he left Rose to be Tasha's guardian? What if Rose got the life she had always planned for herself when it was just her and Lissa? What if 5 years later, something happens to Lissa?
1. Chapter 1

I sat in the pew at the very back of the chapel. I had been at the hospital for a week straight, watching over her, waiting for some sort of response, wanting nothing more than for her to open her warm, comforting green eyes and laugh at my worried expression. But that hadn't happened yet, and according to the doctor at the Courts hospital, the probability of it happening was decreasing by every unconscious hour.

I closed my eyes and tried to leak into Lissa's head, just like I had every day since the attack, but again, when I entered her mind, I was engulfed in complete and terrifying darkness. There was nothing there in her. No thoughts, no dreams, no nothing. Adrian had tried to visit her in her dreams, but just like the result I was getting from the bond, he was getting nothing. It was getting light outside and I knew I should probably be getting home to get some sleep since further attacks were less of a threat in the daylight hours. But the thought of leaving her was terrifying. I needed to keep watch over her and prevent anymore damage from happening to her; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let anything else happen.

I leant forward in the hard wooden seat. It wasn't the comfiest place I could sit, but there was something calm and therapeutic about sitting in the chapel. I think it was because Dimitri had always found salvation here and therefore I had kind of adopted that feeling as well. I stiffened at the thought of Dimitri; I didn't want to think about him, especially not now. The memories I have of him just bring unwanted stress that I really don't need at the moment. I had enough on my plate without letting the old hurt feelings I have whenever I think of him and when he left me after the strigoi attack on the academy to become Tasha's Guardian get the better of me.

I batted away the old thoughts and focused on what mattered at the moment. Lissa. I needed her to get better. I needed her to live and stay with me. I needed her there to keep me in check and make sure my stubbornness doesn't get the better of me when it comes to following orders of the other guardians at court. I just... needed her. Apart from my mom, her, Christian and their daughter Rosie were the only family I had, and now with Christian gone, I only had her and her little girl.

At the thought of Christian tears welled up in my eyes and made their way down my face like a trickling river making its way to the sea. Why did he order me to take the day off? Okay, I know no one can actually order me to do something that I don't want to do, but I mean, why did he make Lissa persuade me to take a day off? I mean, I was perfectly happy working all the hours I could. Guarding Lissa wasn't like a real job, although I looked after her within an inch of my life, I was still hanging out with my best friend, so it was more like a regular day, it wasn't work to me, it was just... ordinary.

I heard the pattering of little feet slapping against the slated floor, I knew what that meant. 'Auntie Rose, when can I see momma?'

I lifted my head to be greeted by the puppy dog eyes of Lissa's daughter, Rosie. Rosie had exactly the same eyes as Lissa and the rest of the Dragomir family and looking into them was like torture. I internally flinched seeing those eyes watching me.

I swallowed back anymore sobs that were threatening to break free, this little girl had been through enough in the last few days, the last thing she needed was to see her tough aunt who never shed a tear over anything (well, never shed a tear in front of her) break down in front of her.

'Hey sweetie.' I said, picking her up and propping her on my knee. She nuzzled into my neck and wrapped her arms around me. I could smell the lavender scented soap Lissa seemed to drown her in.

She leaned her lips to my ear. 'When do I get to see momma?'

My eyes welled up again but I refused to let the tears trickle anywhere. I turned so that I was facing her, tucking her dark hair behind her ears. She had Lissa's style of hair, but the colouring was all Christian. 'Listen Rosie, momma isn't feeling well at the moment, so she has to be left alone so she can sleep okay? But when the doctors who are looking after her tell me you can see her, I promise I will take you to her.'

'Okay.' She nodded. 'Will momma be okay?'

I looked into her eyes and felt sure I was going to start crying even though I was putting up one hell of a fight not to. Rosie was only three, I didn't want to tell her that the chances of her mother coming out of this coma were slim, but then again I didn't want to fill her with false hope either. So I said the only thing that wouldn't squash her hopes, but wouldn't build them either.

'I hope so honey, I hope so.'

We both lapsed into silence, I, deep in thought, Rosie, asleep on my shoulder, breathing evenly. How I wish I was a child, care free and innocent when thinking about the world and it's goings on. I had come here to find some peace and maybe unload some of my guilt, and neither of those two things happened, so I wrapped my arms around Rosie and stood, propping her up on my hip, her head still lolling on my shoulder.

There was no one here to look after Rosie yet even though it had been a week. Since Lissa had no family apart from me, she didn't have anyone Rosie could go and stay with and the only family Christian kept in contact with was his aunt, Tasha, and she was in Russia or something (I tend to blank any information concerning her and Dimitri) and she had only found out yesterday of Christians death and Lissa's condition, so she couldn't be here till the day after tomorrow, and although I needed someone to look after Rosie while I concentrated on Lissa, the thought of seeing Dimitri after five years apart, was not a pleasant thought.

I straightened as I walked out of the chapel with my goddaughter balanced on my hip. It would be different when I saw Dimitri next. I wasn't the eighteen year old 'child' (as he liked to call me) he left behind. I was twenty three, had an okay paid job and my own apartment. I was an adult, and I acted like one too.

The infirmary chapel was only a short walk down the street from my apartment, so I hadn't brought my car, but with all the training I did in order to keep fit and in the best possible shape I could, carrying Rosie down the road wasn't too much of a problem.

It was light out now, moroi night. Since the sun took a lot out of moroi's, I didn't like having Rosie exposed to it, so I tried to keep under the shade the trees provided on the sidewalk. It was such a nice day, to me anyway. I missed the sunny day's loads. The feel of the suns warm rays, tanning and caressing my skin is one of my favourite feelings. But when you become a guardian you need to give up some luxuries, and being awake in the sun, is one of them.

Once at my apartment I went straight to Rosie's room. When I moved in I had a spare room and made it into Rosie's room since I didn't need any extra space for my stuff and it would be handy for when Liss wanted me to babysit. I carefully pulled back the Cinderella duvet set and lay her down on the bed, taking off her little shoes and socks before pulling the covers over her.

'Night angel. Sleep tight.' I whispered before I kissed her forehead and left the room, heading for my own room, wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep in my own bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just warning you, this is a shorter chapter, but I'm updating the next chapter as soon as possible and there will be some revelations. **

I looked up at the topaz blue sky, it was crystal clear, without a cloud marring or masking the blueness, just the suns hot, heavy gaze beaming down on the deserted beach. The sand tickled between my toes and a soft wind blew causing small ripples to cascade over the ocean. I sighed; knowing where this dream was heading, the bright colours and upbeat atmosphere was very familiar. I gazed down at myself. My skin was nice and tanned, shining from being smothered in sun screen. I had a white bikini on, well if you could call it a bikini, it barely contained my breasts and the bottoms only covered the essential parts, being tied at the side of my legs. Let's just say, even for me, in the old days, the outfit was too revealing, I usually liked to leave a _little_ more to the imagination that this outfit did.

'Adrian! What have I told you about putting me in these skimpy outfits?' I yelled out to the deserted beach. I knew he was around, the question was, where? There seemed to be nothing for miles around me, but then again this was a dream, he could probably appear out of thin air if he wanted.

'Little Dhampir, this is a substantial improvement to the last dream I dressed you in.' He chuckled, coming from behind me and placing his arm around my shoulders.

I sighed, trying to shrug his arm off. He was right, last time he had put me in a bra and thong matching set with garters and all the trimmings, as you can probably imagine, I was not amused. I told him then and there with my most threatening voice (which even I have to admit can be damn scary) if he valued his life he would never dress me like that again. I shook my head. I suppose he listened to my warning... to an extent.

'Can I at least have a sarong?' I asked, crossing my arms, then realising that the stance emphasized my impressive chest so dropped my arms to my sides.

He sighed and shook his head. 'Fine.'

A blue and white striped sarong appeared around my waist, tied in a knot at my hip. 'Thank you.'

I smiled at him, but the smile felt alien on my mouth. I couldn't remember the last time I had smiled and to be honest I didn't feel now was an appropriate time to be happy or show any kind of happy emotion. I slowly walked down to the sea, keeping my gaze over the horizon, the relaxing ripples constantly flowing rhythmically felt soothing and being near it was helping to relax me.

The atmosphere changed suddenly. There was sadness in the air, like Adrian knew my mind was on Lissa. 'How is she?' He asked. He had been at the hospital almost as much as I had, but he had left before me earlier today, so I think he was hopeful for a positive update.

'She's the same.' I said.

I felt him approach me and wrap his arms around me. I didn't usually allow this sort of personal contact, but I just needed to be held today. I needed someone to keep me together because I was feeling like I would fall apart at any second. I leant back into him and rested my forehead against his cheek. 'She'll be okay.' He whispered. 'She has to be.' He muttered the last bit more to himself than to me.

I felt a tear escape the corner of my eye. I just didn't have the energy to fight my emotions anymore. Through the last week, I had to stay strong. For Rosie, for Adrian, for Lissa. But now I needed someone to be strong for me because I couldn't cope anymore. I needed to be allowed to just cry. I turned so I was pressed into Adrian and he tightened his grasp on me, I buried my face into his neck. 'I don't think she will this time Adrian, I don't think she is coming back.' I sobbed. My whole body shaking with the gut wrenching sobs making their way up my throat.

Adrian didn't offer anymore words and to be honest if they were going to be as negative as mine had been, I didn't want to hear them. The one thing I did need though was silence. I needed to work things out in my own head before I had to get up and start the routine of being with Lissa and hoping that there would be some sort of change in her condition, only to be shot down when the doctor informs me she is still the same. So Adrian and I just stood there in the middle of a lonely beach, wrapped tightly in each others embrace. If it had been a film or picture, people would deem it as romantic, two people in love holding each other. But to me, it was my release. With Adrian's strong arms around me, I no longer needed to hold myself together, for once, in a very long time, I had someone looking after me, and I have to admit, I loved the feeling... a little too much.

I sighed. The last thing I needed was to become dependent on someone. I was Rose Hathaway for god sake. I neither needed nor wanted anyone to look after me. I think with everything going on, I was becoming too soft. I chuckled to myself. Yeah, like that was going to happen.

The colours and surrounding began to get a clear tint to them, like they were fading. I looked up at Adrian startled but he just smiled at me half heartedly. 'You're waking up Rose, that's all.' I nodded, but clung to him tighter, I wasn't done with my grieving. He could see that in my eyes and he raised his hand to wipe away a tear. 'I'll see you tomorrow. Call me if you need anything.'

Then I opened my eyes and I was back in my room, but there was someone gripping onto my arm and shaking with their little hands.

'Aunt Rose, can I stay with you tonight, I woke up and I can't get back to sleep.'

I smiled at Rosie and nodded silently, moving over to the other side of the bed and lifting the quilt so she could climb in with me. She jumped onto the bed and curled up, snuggling into me. I stroked her hair gently and within minutes, we were both fast asleep, in dreamless unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to the incredible Richelle Mead. I forgot to put this on the first page, but oh well. **

I had been called by courts preschool and asked to go and pick Rosie up. Apparently she hadn't been her usual chirpy self and when asked to do something, burst out crying and refused to speak to anyone other than myself. She hadn't spoken since I had collected her, she just walked along side me, holding my hand and staring into space. I knew she was hurting, and I knew that I had the power to stop some of it, by just letting her see Lissa. But was that really a good idea? Because even for myself, seeing Lissa, lying lifeless on a hospital cot, not moving and just about breathing, was like torture and if Lissa were to die - I shuddered at that thought – that image is always going to be the picture I get whenever I think of the last time I saw her, and could I really jeopardise her three year old daughters happy memories of her mother like that? Ugh, this is why I should never be allowed to spend more that a day with kids, I can't handle the responsibility.

'What's up Rosie?' I asked, pulling her to a stop and slinging her onto my hip. I knew it was a stupid question to ask, but what else could I say. Are you sad because your mommy is in a coma? Talk about obvious.

She shook her head and her gaze fell on the landscape in front of us, she practically looked everywhere other than at me. 'Come on.' I prodded. 'Since when have you ever been at a loss for words?'

She ignored my question and looked down at what I was wearing, she looked startled but it was exactly the distraction she needed. 'Aunt Rose, why are you in a dress?'

I followed her gaze to my long sleeved black knee length dress I wore, that clung to my body in a more than flattering way. I had forgotten all about what I was wearing, and what I was supposed to be doing. Before getting the call from the preschool, I had been getting ready to attend the memorial service for the guardians who lost their lives trying to protect Lissa and Christian. Funny how one little kid can make you loose track of what you're doing.

I smiled at her. 'I was going to the memorial service for the guardians who were protecting your mommy and daddy.' She flinched when I mention Christian, she knew perfectly well that he was gone and wasn't coming back; I had had to tell her when my fears had been confirmed. That he was dead, or at least we all hope he was dead, because the alternative doesn't bear thinking about. I hadn't told Rosie that he was taken by strigoi, she wouldn't understand it fully, I don't think she would grasp that he might have been changed and I definitely didn't want her to think that he had. I know I would much rather think he had been taken as a snack for later – even thought the thought was horrible and made my stomach churn – than changed into one of them.

'What is a memorial service?' She asked fiddling with a strand of my loose hair.

'It's where people go to say goodbye to the people who have died, sweetie.' I said softly, hoping she wouldn't ask when Christians would be.

'Can I come with you?' She looked so innocent. Her green eyes rounded and became huge and she had the sort of smile on her face that would make the toughest strigoi bend to her every whim.

I wasn't sure whether the service was an appropriate place for someone so young, but I really needed to go and pay my respects, and there was no way I could just leave her after her performance today. I sighed. If I introduced Rosie into the world of the dead so early in her childhood, would Lissa kill me? Well, to kill me that is presuming she will wake up. I'd love to see her face if she found out what I was contemplating. 'Are you sure you want to come Rosie, it's going to be quite sad.' I warned, even though I knew she would still say she wanted to come.

She nodded solemnly. Okay, well if that is what she wanted. 'Fine.'

I started to walk back to my apartment. I really needed to finish my make up before I went to the chapel. No one wanted to see me without my face on at this time of the day. We walked in silence for most of the way, but as we approached my place Rosie thought of another question to ask me.

'Can I wear a dress like you?'

I laughed. Trust her to have an ulterior motive as to wanting to come with me. Give her an occasion where she can wear a pretty dress and she's there, no matter how boring she may find it. She reminded me so much of Lissa by her always wanting to look her best, it was crazy.

'Sure if you're quick.'

We arrived at the service just as it was about to start. I in my figure-hugging-but-not-in-a-slutty-way black dress and Rosie in a pink/lilac princess style dress with a matching headband. We both looked very stylish, even if I did say so myself. It hadn't taken as long as I had thought to get Rosie dressed and ready, she knew exactly what she wanted to wear and got into it straight away. She had been more talkative on the ride over, maybe because her mind had temporarily forgotten about her absent mother, or just because she was happy to wear her pretty dress and spend time with me and not alone, but either way, I wasn't bothered, as long as my goddaughter was happy, no matter how short a time her cheer would last.

We walked to the back of the chapel and slipped in next to Eddie. He had been the one to find Lissa and bring her back before the last remaining strigoi at the attack could take her away. He had been Christian's guardian, and like me, had for once been persuaded to take the day off and rely on the other guardians appointed to them to look after them and you could see it in his eyes that he felt guilty as hell about the whole incident, even though there was nothing either of us could do if we had been ordered by our charges to take time off.

'Late as usual Rose.' Eddie smirked, grabbing Rosie around the waist and hoisting her onto his lap. He was her godfather, Lissa and Christian had decided that for Rosie's godparents they wanted Eddie and I, as we were both guardians and they knew we would protect her at all costs.

'We're not late.' I argued, grinning back at him. 'The priest hasn't even started speaking yet.'

Just as I finished my sentence Father... okay I can't remember the priests name, since moving to court I had only ever been in the chapel three times, twice after seeing Lissa and now. And those times I was here, he wasn't, so I've never really found out his name. As the chapel had been a big part of my life at the academy, I decided I would change that here. The chapel at the academy had nothing but bad memories for me. It was when Lissa and Christian would be together (as in together-together, if you know what I mean) would be, it was where I had to do community service for mucking up my first task at the field experience, it was where I said goodbye to Mason at his funeral and it was where after the strigoi attack on the academy I went to sit in silence and pray (not literally) that Dimitri would come back to me unhurt. Eddie and I lapsed into silence listening to the sermon. 'We are all gathered here to pay tribute and respect to the guardians who last week lost their lives while protecting royal moroi Princess Vasalisa Dragomir and Lord Christian Ozera. They died with courage and strength and as we all know a guardian's life is a precious thing and every loss is heavily felt...' And on he went.

Half an hour later he read out the names of the dhampirs who lost their lives and then close friends and family spoke of their loved ones. It was sad to watch, and I knew all too well what these people were feeling. When my close friend Mason died and I had to attend his funeral, making his disease final, I found it almost impossible to cope. The priest finished with a prayer once the last person had spoken then we all headed outside, to carry on with our lives and duties.

I had originally thought Rosie would have been bored stiff during the service, but the little girl surprised me. She kept quiet throughout the whole thing and listened intently to what people were saying. Even at her young age, she had developed an understanding between living and dying and about the connections people had no matter which category they fell under. She was going to be a smart one my goddaughter was. I could see it.

Eddie walked us over to my car. The chapel was about a half hour walk from my place, and normally I wouldn't mind that one bit, but wearing the killer five inch heels I had put on to complete my outfit, I didn't even want to attempt the walk, just in case Rosie wanted to be carried. I threw Rosie in the back of the car and strapped her in, then turned to Eddie.

'What are you up to now?' I asked. I don't know why I bothered though, I knew the answer, he was going to go back to work.

'I've gotta go to the airport.' He sighed. I watched him as he said this, and he didn't look at me once, well not in the eye anyway. He was tense and twitchy at the same time. I knew that could only mean one thing. He was going to pick up the two people I really didn't want to see.

'I take it you're going to pick up Tasha and Dimitri?'

He nodded and then met my eyes... finally! 'Look Rose, I didn't want to do it, but I was given orders and you know as well as I do that if I refuse them it will just cause more trouble and I don't think anyone can handle anymore for a while.'

I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. 'Eddie, chill. It's not your fault that they're coming and if you've been told to collect them then that is what you have to do. Don't worry about it.'

'Really?' He asked, raising an eyebrow at me, reminding me of Dimitri and when he used to give me that look. I shuddered but I'm pretty sure he didn't see.

'Really, just make sure they don't come to the hospital for a couple of hours or so.' I replied, climbing into the driver's side of my car.

'Why not?'

'I'm taking Rosie there' I said turning around and patting her on the knee. 'To see her mommy.' A breathtaking smile lit up her whole face, just looking at her made my cheeks ache. I had only just decided that is where I was going to take her, and I'm still not sure that I have made the right decision, but looking at her face and seeing how happy she was, I couldn't go back on my word now.

Eddie's eyes widened and he leaned down so he could speak a little quieter to save his question from being overheard by little ears. 'Rose, are you sure that is a good idea?'

I laughed without humour. 'No, I'm not sure at all, but I know she needs to see her mother, even if Lissa cant speak to her.'

He seemed to mull this over for a minute. I didn't think he would agree with me on this particular topic, but I didn't need him to, Rosie was in my care at the moment and it was my choice on what to do with her. Then slowly he nodded. 'Okay, if you think that's what she needs.'

I smiled up at him. 'I do.'

He slammed the door on my side and looked through the open window as I started up the engine. 'Just remember I can't stop them' them meaning you know who. 'From coming to the infirmary if they want to. I have to do what they tell me, remember?'

Isn't life a bitch sometimes? 'Fine, just... try and hold them off for as long as possible.' Then I drove off.

Once at the infirmary and we were stood outside the room Lissa had been put in, I sat Rosie down on a chair outside and crouched down so that I was on her level. I needed her to know what to expect without freaking her out. Because for her to walk in there blind and see Lissa in her less than cooperative state was just plain cruel.

'Listen to me Rosie, when you go in there, mommy will be asleep okay? She wont talk to you or answer your questions. She'll be a bit like sleeping beauty. But you can go in and give her a hug, talk to her and tell her about what's been going on and what you've been up to, because she can hear you and she'll be listening.'

Rosie nodded silently and jumped off the chair. She walked over to the door leading into Lissa's room and pushed it open confidently without needing me to hold her hand, or looking back at me for confirmation. She just held her head high and walked over to Lissa's bed, climbed onto the chair next to it and put her small delicate hand in Lissa's. She didn't cry or yell or do anything I would expect a normal three year old to do, she just sat there in silence, enjoying the fact she was with her mother. But then the next thing she did just about broke my heart. 'I miss you Momma.' She said and leaned forward and kissed Lissa's hand. 'When are you gonna wake up?'

I took a deep breath and interrupted. I knew I needed to tell her there was a chance Lissa wasn't going to wake up, but I couldn't so I took the easy part to correct. 'Rosie honey, remember what I said, she cant speak back and that means no answering your questions.'

'I know Aunt Rose, but I can still ask her cant I?' Well, yes she could, but wouldn't the silence that emphasized the absence of Lissa's reply distress her? But then again if Rosie wanted to ask questions, what could I do about it? Tape her mouth shut? Obviously not, I'm pretty sure that is frowned upon.

'Sure sweetie, I suppose you can.'

So Rosie continued to ask questions and tell Lissa about what had happened since the attack, she didn't talk about Christian, which I was extremely grateful for, because knowing my luck, Lissa would wake up just as Rosie told her and I'd have to explain everything, and at the moment, I just didn't have the energy to do that. I settled myself down on the couch over the other side of the room, I could tell Rosie needed some private mother and daughter time, even if only one of the participants was responsive. The minutes passed by swiftly and I just listened to the gentle one sided chatter in the room. Just as I was beginning to relax and accept that for once I had made the right choice when it came to my goddaughter and that it was a good thing that I brought her to see Liss, my phone buzzed, indicating that I had a call.

I picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was Eddie. 'Yep?' I said into the phone.

'Rose, um... you're not going to like this-' He started.

I cut him off, knowing where this conversation was going. 'Let me guess, you're on your way. Don't worry, I'll round Rosie up and we'll be gone by the time they get here.'

Eddie coughed awkwardly. 'No, Rose, they're here, they are heading to room like right now.'

'What?' I screeched. 'Why didn't you call me sooner?'

'What did you expect me to do? While driving with them sitting next to me, just ring you up and say, hey Rose guess what? You know the guy who left you? Yeah, well he's on his way to the infirmary to see Liss, so you might want to go since you don't want to see him.'

Okay, he had a fair point, but still? I stood abruptly and grabbed my jacket from the sofa too. 'Look Eddie, I gotta go, I'll see you later.' I pressed the end call button and threw my phone in my bag.

I looked over at Rosie, so pleased and content. There was no way I could make her leave now, not when she was finally happy, well as happy as she could be. So I had to do what every mature adult has to do. I told Rosie I had to pop outside. I opened the door, stepped into the corridor closing the door behind me. I turned in the direction I knew they were coming from, looked up, braised myself and got ready to face my problem head on. And sure enough, there he was, all six foot five of him, walking towards me, looking as hot and dangerous as ever. Yep, attention Rose, my problem had just arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

When his chocolate brown eyes met mine his cool and indifferent attitude faltered and he started slightly, before regaining composure and continuing to make his way over to me. He hadn't changed at all in the last five years, surely he should have aged slightly, I mean, come on, he was almost thirty. He was still wearing his duster, but I'm pretty sure that he had had a new one since the last time I had spoken to him and his hair was still quite long and pulled back into a pony tail at the nape of his neck.

'Rose.' He nodded as he came to a stop before me. His accent was still there, still very slight and still as sexy as hell. It made my knees weak just by hearing his voice. I had never tried to convince myself that I didn't love him anymore, because that cause would be lost before it even began. There was no way I could delude myself into thinking I wasn't just as crazy about him as the first time I met him. But I wasn't as messed up as to think that I held no hate towards him. As many people say, there is a very fine line between love and hate and if my jumbled inner emotions were anything to go by, then that statement was definitely correct. How could you want to kill and kiss someone simultaneously so much?

'Guardian Belikov.' I smiled. It wasn't my man eating smile, or my I'm-ecstatic-to-see-you smile, it was more along the lines of I'm-being-polite-because-I-have-to-be. I used his formal guardian name, there was no point calling him by his first name. Guardians are always formal with each other and refer to each other by their last name unless they are speaking to their friends, and the man in front of me was most certainly not my friend. I could tell he didn't like me calling him Guardian Belikov, I could see it in his eyes... ah those eyes, I could still read them like a book, and I could still see all of his hidden emotions through them, that he wanted no one to see. Well, tough, when he chose to leave me and cut all ties and contact, he chose to treat me as a stranger, and if that is what he had chosen, that was exactly what he was going to get. I am neither now and never will be anything more to him than a co-worker if you like. We will never again experience the unbelievable connection we used to experience and never again will I ever let him get close to me. Because last time when I let my guard down, I opened up to him, I let him get to know the Rose Hathaway that even Lissa hasn't seen. I let myself love him and I let myself believe that against all odds he loved me too. But, never again, because when he left I realised something. Love just wasn't worth the hassle. When you let yourself love someone, you are giving that someone the power to break you, to rip out your soul and expose it to the world. Love just leaves you vulnerable and in the end it leaves you alone.

'Hello Rose.' A woman's voice said from the side of Dimitri. Oh my god, Tasha! I hadn't seen her walking next to him. I had been too preoccupied by the rush of emotions shooting through me like they were on live wire, just by seeing him. I turned to Tasha. It pained me to say, that like Dimitri, age had been nothing but kind to her. She still looked as pretty and petit as ever, despite the scars that forever marred her face as a reminder of her families past.

'Hey Tasha.' I nodded then held out my hand for her to take. 'I'm sorry about Christian.' Christian was the only immediate family she had left and he had been taken from her. Although I didn't necessarily like the woman for taking the only man I have ever loved away from me, I still felt like I ought to acknowledge her pain and sympathize with her.

'Thank you Rose, and I am sorry about Lissa.' She said squeezing the hand of mine that she was holding.

I swallowed and looked back at Dimitri who was standing tense, staring at me; probing me with his eyes. The depths of them never ceased to astound me and all the private messages he wanted to display for me but no one else launched at me, but I shook my head and reverted my gaze back to Tasha. 'Thank you, but she'll be fine. Do you really think I'd let a little thing like a coma take my best friend away from me?' I joked, when in doubt; layer your comments with thick Rose Hathaway bravado.

She chuckled a hollow chuckle. I could tell she wanted to ask me about the attack and I could also tell that she couldn't bring herself to find out the facts she dreaded to hear. I sighed. 'What do you want to know Tasha?' Might as well beat her to the punch.

She gulped and gripped onto Dimitri's hand, and just like when she had done it at the ski lodge, I wanted to rip that arm clean off of her. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that he wasn't mine to be protective over anymore. I swallowed back my anger, telling myself that this was not the time; this was not the time for my usual hot-headed self to emerge and cause complete and utter chaos. 'Rose... what happened to him?'

This was definitely the question I didn't want her to ask, but since already she had got into the annoyingly regular routine of doing things that I don't like, it was pretty obvious she was going to ask me the one question I didn't want to answer.

I opened my mouth to reply, but Dimitri beat me to it. 'Why don't we discuss this inside? I'm sure you don't want some people to overhear this.' Logical as ever I can see.

I shook my head however, I knew he was being reasonable, but if Tasha wanted this question answered, I didn't want Rosie to overhear it. It wasn't time for her to find out about her fathers possible fate. 'No, not in there, if you want me to answer, we stay out here; I don't want Rosie to overhear this.'

Tasha's eyes widened when I mentioned her great nieces name. She hadn't seen Rosie in a couple of years, not since Christian and Lissa had visited them when Rosie was just turned one. I hadn't gone on that trip, instead asking Eddie and some older guardians to go in my place. I would do a lot of things for Lissa, but face Dimitri if I had a way out of it was not one of them. 'Rosanna is here?' Tasha asked. Lissa had named Rosie after as she called us 'the two greatest shadow kissed guardians ever', myself and shadow kissed Anna. But Lissa and I always liked to call her Rosie; Rosanna was too old for her young face I thought.

'Yes, she is with Lissa and I don't want her to hear about Christian so if you want to know about him we will do it here and now.' I didn't say it nastily to her, but I made it clear that I wasn't going to budge, not on this matter anyway.

'Okay.' She agreed then waited for me to answer her earlier question.

'Eddie and I had been ordered to take the night off by both Lissa and Christian, and reluctantly we agreed. The two of them went out to the mall and in the car park they were attacked by a pack of strigoi. Christian being Christian made sure Lissa was safe and joined in with the guardians helping them wherever her could. But it got too much, all guardians were killed except Eddie who got a call and came just as they were about to take Lissa off with them and Christian, was no where to be seen. He was...' I took a deep breath. 'He was gone.'

A single tear trickled down her face making her eyes look huge and innocent. She absentmindedly wiped it away and steadied her voice. 'And is he...?' She couldn't finish, but I knew where she was heading. She wanted to know if he had been turned.

My own eyes filled with tears even though I had been trying to enable my guardian mask, but I bit them back and looked at her head on. 'We don't know.'

'So he may not be dead, he might be-'

I shook my head and held up my hand to cut her off. 'No Tasha, either way he is dead, do not think otherwise.'

That's when I heard a door creak and looked to left of me. Rosie had just opened the door and stuck her head out looking for me. She looked worried at first but when she saw me she smiled. 'Aunt Rose, momma wants some ice cream.' She stated, the corners of her mouth twitching.

I laughed and bent down to pick her up. 'Momma wants some ice cream or do you mean you want some ice cream?'

She bit her lip and for the first time in the last week I saw the care free girl who was loved and looked after. I saw the little girl who was forever happy. 'I want some ice cream.' She corrected.

Just like I thought. I tugged gently at a strand of her hair and turned her to face Dimitri and Tasha. 'Do you remember your Aunt Tasha and Guardian Belikov?' I asked gently, knowing what the answer would be.

'No.' she said, going all shy and burying her face in my neck.

'Well, Aunt Tasha was daddy's auntie and this man here; this is her guardian, Guardian Belikov.' I explained, hoping that Rosie might just say hello because I could tell that Tasha needed some reassurance that she hadn't lost the only family member that ever meant anything to her. 'Say hello Rosie.'

She turned and smiled at them, still clinging to my neck though. 'Hello.'

Tasha smiled back, taking a few steps forward to get a better look at her great niece. 'Haven't you grown Rosanna? The last time I saw you, you were only a baby.' She paused and took her great niece's change in. 'I'll tell you what, why don't I take you to go get some ice cream? Just the two of us and you can tell me all about yourself.'

Rosie looked at me for confirmation that his was okay and I nodded. I popped her down on the floor and she walked over to Tasha. 'Can we get Aunt Rose some ice cream too? She likes chocolate.' I heard her say before she disappeared around the corner leaving me with Dimitri. Damn, I hadn't thought that through.

I didn't know how to handle the situation, so I turned round and walked back into Lissa's room so I could spend some time with my best friend. I sat down on the chair Rosie had occupied and turned my back to the door. I knew Dimitri would follow me in, it was his nature to make sure everything was under control, even including my emotions.

'How are you doing Roza?' He asked standing at the opposite side of the bed so he could look at me. I internally cringed at my old nickname. When we had been together (well if you could call what we had being together. In my eyes he messed with me, slept with me and then left me once he had gotten what he wanted.) I used to be thrilled when he called me Roza, but now, it was an unwanted reminder of all the heartache and misery he has brought to me.

I turned to him, not caring if my guardian mask was on or not, I wanted him to see the emotion that was boiling away behind my semi-cool exterior. I let sarcasm leak into my voice and taint my words because when wanting to vent my anger, sarcasm was my one true ally. 'Oh, you know, just peachy. Yeah, life couldn't get any better than this you know. One friend dead or worse, my best friend in an indefinite coma, looking after my three year old goddaughter and having to answer all the complex questions she asks me about when her parents are to come back and above all that I still have to find time to chip in on guardian duties.' I was going to add the fact that my unfeeling ex had just popped back with the woman who stole him from me, but thought that would be too much. I thought it might give him satisfaction knowing that he still effected me. 'Oh and by the way, my name is Rose, not Roza. You have no business calling me that anymore. Do you get me?'

He shook his head in exasperation. 'Still the same Rose I see. You haven't changed at all have you?'

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a complement or an insult, but either way I didn't want to hear it, not now, not ever and there was an unbearable rage growing inside of me, tearing and shredding at my self control, needing to be set free. I don't know if it was him being here, or just the fact I had finally been pushed to my limit, but I just exploded. 'I haven't changed?' I stood up and slowly turned around in front of him so he could get a better look at me, and by the look on his face I still had the looks that that held the power to make him drool over me. 'Look at me. I am a guardian; I am one of the best! I have my own place, I have my own car, and if you've failed to notice. I am a grown up, I'm twenty three. I'm an adult. I have changed so much I'm surprised you even recognized me. It's you that hasn't changed!'

He remained composed. He just leant back against the wall, crossed his arms and gave me that one eyebrow look that he seriously over uses. 'Yeah, I can see you've changed. You don't let your anger get the better of you anymore do you? I see you have really mellowed out.' I could hear his own sarcasm marking his voice. If my memory served me correctly, he very rarely let any emotion get into his voice and interactions, unless he is swept away in the throes of passion.

'Sorry Comrade, not all of us is as obsessed with Zen life lessons as you are, so we don't need to stay mellow.'

'I can see that.' He retorted.

Just as I was about to go into another rant Rosie came bursting through the door with two small tubs of ice cream held tightly in her hands. She made a run for me and handed me the tub with chocolate in. 'Thank you sweetie.' I said kissing her on the top of her head, as Tasha walked into the room.

Tasha straight away made her way to Liss and kissed her lovingly on the forehead. 'Lissa honey, what have they done to you?' She stroked back Lissa's blonde hair and continued to talk to her in a soothing motherly way.

'Aunt Rose?' Rosie asked around a mouthful of ice cream.

'Yes baby girl.'

'Why can't I stay with you?' She asked innocently, staring right at me. Her eyes full of hurt and rejection.

'What do you mean?' She had my curiosity now, why did she think she couldn't stay with me? I hadn't said anything about her leaving and as far as I knew, she was entrusted to me while Lissa was unable to look after her. So what was Rosie going on about?

'Aunt Tasha said I had to go live with her and Dimitri.' She pointed at Dimitri as she said this.

'Well you aunt has got it wrong, you are staying with me until we are told otherwise.' I turned my death glare on and twisted so it would land on Tasha like a spot light she could not outrun. 'What have you been telling her?' I hissed.

'Look, Rose, although I think you are doing a fantastic job at looking after her, I think it would be better for all of us, if she stayed with me. I mean your only twenty three, you have a busy job and you have Lissa on your hands, so I'm taking Rosanna.'

I smiled sweetly at her and crossed my arms over my chest. 'Ha ha, no. _Rosie _is staying with me. I am her godmother, I am Lissa's best friend, apart from her parents I am the closest family she has and there is no way I'm sending her to live with an aunt she has only just met.'

'Well it isn't your decision.' She said, shaking her head with that stupid grin on her face.

Wow, she sure sounded final. I don't think she wanted me to carry on, that made me laugh, has she ever met me? Nothing is final when it concerns me until I say it is. It's a good job that me being me, I'm not one hundred percent sure when to stop. 'The hell it's not my decision. She has been entrusted to me. I am her legal guardian in the parental sense at the moment and what I say goes. Got it?'

'Rose, I really think you should think about this.' Dimitri cut in, always the voice of reason, shame that for once the reason was biased.

'There is nothing to think about. Rosie is staying with me until I am told otherwise by _Lissa_. She is happy and safe with me and I do a damn good job of looking after her. You are not taking her away from me. Not now.'

'She is all I have left of Christian!' Tasha screamed, shocking all of us. Tasha was never the sort for an emotional outburst. She always believed in having her opinion heard, but she never caused a scene while doing it, well apart from setting a guys jumper on fire while we were at the ski lodge and everyone was in a heated debate, but still, raising her voice was very uncharacteristic of her.

'Well, at the moment she is all I have left of both of them and I am not giving her up. You can see her all you want, I would never deprive her or you of that, but she is staying with me. End of discussion.'

I stood up and took Rosie's hand. 'Come on Rosie, go give momma a kiss and say bye to aunt Tasha and Guardian Belikov, we're leaving.'


	5. Chapter 5

After my encounter with Dimitri and Tasha, I was finding it hard to breathe, let alone think because I was so mad. How dare they turn up here after two years and claim to know what is best for Rosie? How can they know what is best when they don't even know her? I have been doing a perfectly good job looking after her this last week, so what makes them think that they can do any better than me? Just because they are older than me and both want kids? Or have a bigger house than me? Or even have more money than me? How dare they!

I was pacing back and forth along my living room floor, Rosie was in bed and Adrian was sitting in front of me, watching me, with a glass containing some sort of alcoholic substance in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other.

'Little Dhampir, you need to relax.' He said, although I could tell even he was pissed off with what had happened to me today. Adrian had seemed to have calmed down a little since we were all at the academy and didn't drink or smoke anywhere near as much as he used to.

'How can I relax when arrangements concerning myself and my goddaughter were made without even consulting me?' I shrieked. I was getting madder by the second and being cooped up in the apartment really wasn't helping. I really needed to get out and cool off. 'Adrian, would you be able to just keep an eye on Rosie for an hour or so? I really need to go for a run or something; I need to blow off steam, you know, clear my head.'

'Of course Rose, take as much time as you need.' He nodded, motioning with one hand for me to leave. Bless him, five years ago I never thought I would call Adrian a life saver, but today, that is what he most definitely was.

I smiled at him and went into my room to throw on some shorts and a sports bra. When I came out Adrian was sprawled out on the couch with the TV on. I blew past him, stopping to plant a kiss on his forehead, and then flew out the door. As soon as the front door was firmly shut behind me I started to get into my rhythmic jog. The air was crisp outside and there was a slight breeze keeping the temperature in check. It was good running weather, not too hot, not too cold, just nice. I didn't know where I was going to run, I decided just to let my feet take me wherever they desired. I wasn't fussed where I went, as long as my temper cooled down.

Court was pretty quiet for this time of the day, but I suppose all the Moroi were home, getting ready to retire for the night. It was nice to have the place to myself; I didn't want to run into anyone tonight because I wasn't in my most talkative mood. After roughly thirty minutes, I realised where I had run to. I had gone back to the chapel, off all the places I could have gone to, my subconscious decides to take me there. I knew the priest wouldn't be there because of the time, so I opened the two huge mahogany doors, hearing them creak loudly in protest as I slid between them, then I snuck to the front of the church.

I really don't know why I felt so at home here all of a sudden, I mean I'm not really a religious person, so there is no finding peace with that, so why did I feel like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders as soon as I entered the place?

There was a row of candles at the front where people could come and light them in respect after a memorial service, but right now I didn't want to light them for the guardians, I wanted to light them for Christian. The thought of him made my eyes well up. Although me and him fought like cat and dog, always ranting at each other and taking the piss, the truth was I loved him. Not in the way Lissa loved him, but more like a brotherly way. Even though we would never admit it, we were very similar. We both had hot tempers (him literally, me metaphorically), both stood up for what is right and were both misjudged by a large majority of the moroi and dhampir world based on miscommunication.

I found a box of matches near the first candle and struck the match. The flame crackled as it came alight and made a satisfying spark. Then I lit the candles, one after the other. I didn't realise someone was in the chapel with me until I felt a hand on my shoulder making me jump and swivel round, fists raised, legs braised, I was ready for whoever had snuck up on me.

'Relax Roza it is only me.' Dimitri said placing his other hand on my other shoulder and crouching down so he could look at me on eye level after giving me a once over in my fairly revealing outfit. His eyes seemed to scream approval at the amount of skin I had on display.

'I thought I told you not to call me Roza.' I said, knocking his hands from my skin. The feel of him touching me sent shivers down my spine a reaction I really did not want. Even once his hands had been removed I could still feel his warm skin on me. If I was one of those psycho stalker people I would say I was never going to wash my shoulders again.

'Sorry.' He straightened up. 'Slip of the tongue. Old habits die hard.' I never thought I would see the day, but Dimitri Belikov looked... embarrassed.

'What are you doing here?' I asked. I needed to keep taking, keep my brain active because his spicy cologne was intoxicating, clouding up my rational thoughts.

'I was going to ask you the same question.' He stated, doing that damn eyebrow thing again. If I was in a better mood, or someone else was doing it, I would admit that it was pretty cool, but since it was him and I was in a really bad mood, I thought it was lame and annoying.

'Look Comrade, we're not at the academy anymore, you don't have to keep tabs on me, and there is no curfew, I don't have to explain myself to you.'

He ignored my comment and reached up to wipe my cheek. I wondered what he was doing. Last time I checked people don't walk around randomly wiping at another persons cheek, but you know, maybe in the last week while I've been busy focusing on my impossible problems, I missed the memo.

'Why are you crying Rose?' He asked softly, leaving his hand on my cheek. Oh, so he was wiping away my tears. I didn't even know I was crying. How embarrassing. He stood staring at me. His brown eyes so intense it felt like they would burn a hole through my skull, just to see into my mind and find out why I was so upset. I looked at his hand, wondering why he still hadn't moved it. His eyes were begging me to see something. Begging me to read them, but I couldn't bring myself to look deep. What if they told me something I really didn't want to know?

I shook my head. I didn't want to show any weakness around him, because last time I did that look what happened! I had my heart broken and life shattered. And there was no way I was going to risk that happening again.

'Rose please talk to me.' He pleaded, his brow creased in concern.

'No.' I took a step away from him. He dropped his hand, his eyes burning with sadness. 'No, I can't. Not again.' I couldn't confide in him again. He had had his chance and he had crushed me. There was no way I was voluntarily opening myself up like that again. I lost too much and gained nothing.

'Roza, please.' I had a feeling we weren't talking about why I was so upset now. I think he changed his intention for his interrogation.

'Stop calling me that!' I yelled, stepping even further away from him. 'You can't call me that anymore. You lost the right to use that name five years ago when you left me for her.' I pointed out the door even though I knew Tasha wasn't there.

'Rose I didn't-' He started but I cut him off. I couldn't hear anymore, I needed to leave; I needed to vacate the premises as soon as possible because otherwise I was in grave danger of crumbling to the floor right in front of him and I couldn't show him that side of me anymore.

'I've gotta go. I can't be here right now. I just... I just can't.' I headed for the door but then a thought entered my head. 'But I swear to you now, if you back that bitch in trying to take my goddaughter away from me, I will never ever forgive you. I've as good as lost Lissa. I'm not loosing Rosie as well.' And with that, I stormed out of the church.

I hadn't slept all night. I had tossed and turned, my mind churning over the day's events. How could such a normal day take such a drastic turn into the valley of insanity? It was really beyond me. And what the hell was with Dimitri last night? Was he purposefully trying to make me snap? So he and Tasha could take Rosie away from me and become the family they always wanted?

Just as I was sorting Rosie out with her cereal the house phone started shrieking impatiently, signalling that someone was trying to get into contact with me. I dashed into the living room and picked it up.

'Hathaway.' I answered.

'Rose, its Eddie.' He said nervously. I could almost feel the nerves through the phone.

'Hey Eddie, what's up?'

'You've got to attend a meeting. Tasha is still after Rosie, so Princess Evette is calling a meeting and will announce who will have custody over her at the moment.'

I could feel my blood boiling. That bitch! She doesn't have any of her own kids so takes someone else's instead, even if the child doesn't want it. 'Right, what time?'

'An hour.' He stated.

'I'll be there. Bye.'

'Wait Rose!' He quickly called before I could put the phone down. 'There is something you should know. Dimitri hasn't backed her with this. He has given his opinion that he thinks Rosie should stay with you.'

I took a deep breathe. He has? Dimitri has stood up for me. 'Are you sure?' I asked, not quite believing what I was hearing.

'Yeah, I was there. All I'm saying is Rose, maybe you should cut him some slack, I know what you are like and I can pretty much guess that you are torturing the poor guy at the moment.' I think that was the first time Eddie had actually given me a piece of advice not involving guardian duties.

'Since when do you get involved in my personal business?' I asked jokingly, making the question light but still wanting him to know I was curious of the answer.

'Since you are my friend and I know you still love him. I know when you hurt him it hurts you too and maybe you are taking your anger out on him falsely, maybe you don't have the whole story.' Wow, he should really be a talk show host or a shrink or something. Seriously, once he started on the relationship advice you couldn't shut him up.

'Look Eddie, I appreciate your help, but to me it is black and white. He left me, end of. There is nothing more to say.' I shrugged.

'Fine, but just look after yourself Rose; I don't want to see you hurt again.' He said before the line went dead. Well today was already taking a turn for the unexpected _again_.

It didn't take me long to get ready for the meeting. I dressed in my guardian slacks and white shirt and threw my hair up in a messy bun. I had left Rosie with Adrian again, not thinking she was ready to go back to preschool and not wanting to take the chance of being called away from the meeting to go pick her up. I had butterflies shooting around in my stomach making me feel sick with nerves. What if they took her away from me? No, I couldn't think like that, nothing was going to happen. I wouldn't let it. Rosie was going to stay where she belonged, with me, who loved her more than anything.

I entered the building. It was styled like something you see in a posh old fashioned movie. There was wood everywhere, even the arm chairs were made out of it. It was a dusky sort of wood, dim but elegant. The walls were cream and plain with lots of red material hung on them as pictures. It was strange taste, but even though it wasn't my kind of thing, it did look stylish and very sophisticated.

As I entered, I noticed the room was already full with the others attending. At the top of the room was Princess Evette Ozera, with her guardians on either side of her and Tasha, Dimitri, Eddie and some official looking moroi in a pinstripe light grey suit. I guess he's the guy who will record and read out all the official documents.

Princess Evette looked up from Tasha and smiled when she saw me. 'Ah, Guardian Hathaway, thank you for coming. Please join us.' She said politely motioning to the chair on the left of Dimitri. I nodded and sat where she suggested.

Princess Evette was the person who would announce who had legal custody over Rosie, as she was the head of the Ozera family and was in charge of all the official work. Even though Rosie had been named a Dragomir, because Lissa had no other family it went to the Ozera's to be in charge of this information.

'I take it you know why you have been summoned?' She asked.

'Yes Princess.' I understood just fine, super bitch over there was trying to take my goddaughter away from me.

'Right well let's get this over and done with shall we?' She clasped her hands together before reaching out to receive the documents the pinstriped moroi held. She scanned the documents in seconds then looked up and smiled at me with a smile I think was meant to be reassuring, but in these circumstances I wasn't too sure, it could have been a sympathy smile.

I gripped onto the side of my chair so hard my knuckles went white before hearing the faint sound of tearing fabric. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dimitri glance at me. I had forgotten I was sitting next to him; I had entered the room so robotically, thinking about nothing more than keeping Rosie. Wow, if the whole custody thing wasn't so distracting this would be really awkward. I saw his arm move slowly and felt him carefully pry my hand off the arm rest, then he gently slipped him hand in mine and squeezed. As his rough but soft calloused hands wrapped around mine, warmth and longing shot through me. Due to that simple gesture, even though I had so many other things on my mind, I felt the amazing electrical feeling he could send through my body. I should have pulled away, in the back of my head I could hear my common sense screaming at me, begging me to move my hand out of his reach, but at that moment, I needed reassurance and he was the only one who was able to provide it for me. I squeezed his hand back subconsciously. Okay it seems my body was taking on a mind of its own.

'Right, well stated in these documents it has been expressed by both Princess Vasalisa and Lord Ozera that they both wish for their daughter to be placed in the care of Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway should something happen to themselves.' She paused and looked up at Tasha. 'And due to the positive feedback I have been getting from some sources, I have to say that I must oblige to the wants of the parents of Rosanna Vasalisa Ozera Dragomir, Rosanna is to stay with Guardian Hathaway until we get more information on Princess Vasalisa and if this turns into a more long term arrangement, we will resume this meeting for a more detailed discussion. You are all dismissed.'

Tasha rose from her chair, stared daggers at me and then stormed out of the building. Wow, that was mature, wasn't I supposed to be the immature one? I turned to see Dimitri smiling at me and quickly dropped his hand as if it had electrocuted me, which is what it had been pretty much doing the whole time it had been in my grasp.

'Congratulations Rose.' Dimitri said, his eyes boring into mine so intensely I felt like my mind was going to exploded from the pressure.

'Thank you Guardian Belikov.' I answered, I saw that it still bothered him, my calling him by his official guardian name, but I wasn't ready to refer to him on a first name basis yet. I got up from my chair and stood so I could talk to Eddie who had dropped his emotionless guardian mask and was now smiling like a Cheshire cat. 'Eddie, what are you doing after your shift?'

'Nothing, why?'

'I promised Rosie, that if I got my way we would have a little tea party to celebrate, you up for that?' I asked, knowing that he would never pass up the chance to spend time with Rosie.

'Sure, that sounds good.' He raised both his eyebrows at me and inclined his head towards Dimitri, who was still sitting, not looking at either of us, his shoulders slumped, almost in defeat

I took a deep breath, I did owe Dimitri for speaking on my behalf, here goes nothing. I knew I was playing with fire, by doing what I was about to, but I would be a pretty heartless bitch if I didn't include him in the celebrations.

'Dim... Dimitri.' He looked up at me when I said his name. He wasn't stupid enough to display the relief he felt by me not referring to him like I would a stranger, but I could see it in his eyes that he was happy that I had called him Dimitri. 'Look, I heard that you had a big influence on the final decision made, and I want to thank you. Do you want to join us tonight... you know to celebrate? It's not going to be a very adult party, I'm afraid the theme is Disney princesses, Rosie's choice, but you are more than welcome to come along.'

He stood up and positioned himself in front of me so he could get a better look at me. 'I'd like that Rose.' I appreciated that he called me Rose instead of Roza. 'What time would you like me to be there?'

I thought about that for a moment. I needed to go shopping to pick up so bits and bobs and get some finger food. I had never really bothered learning to cook, I pretty much lived on take out, so I couldn't really cook anything for tonight, but I could get some ready made snacks.

'Well, I've got to go to the mall to pick up some decorations and I need to get some nibbles-'

He cut me off. 'Who are you going with?'

'No one, I'm going by myself.' I said, wondering why he wanted to know.

'I'm coming with you. You can't go alone.' He stated.

I widened my eyes at him and I felt my mouth drop open. So much for my good mood. I had been in a happy content bubble and he has to come along and pop it. 'And why can't I go alone?'

'Rose, you know it isn't safe out there.' He replied reasonably. But seriously, had he missed the fact that I was an official guardian? Had been for the last five years.

'I am more than capable of grabbing some groceries and going shopping by myself. I'm not a novice anymore, I can handle myself.' I argued. And there I was thinking we had turned a corner and I didn't have to be so pissed off at him all the time and he has to go and treat me like a needy damsel in distress, needing a knight in shining armour accompanied by a duster to come and save me.

'Stop being stubborn. Think about it, Princess Vasalisa and Christian were attacked there by a gang of strigoi, you wouldn't be able to handle it if there was a huge group would you? Not alone. After all these years you still jump into things without thinking...' he went on for a while and I sort of zoned out. Did he always have to go into Zen mode? It was enough to bore me to tears and to be honest I didn't really care. If you over analysed everything, where was the spontaneity in life that you sometimes needed to add a little flavour and spice.

'Look' I said holding up a hand to stop him before he gave me a full blown lecture on responsibility and rational thinking. 'Is this you trying to come with me because you care or because you feel it is your duty?'

'Both.' He sighed.

'And if I say you can come, will it shut you up?' I asked hopefully. I still loved the sound of his voice, but not when he is preaching to me like a hippy trying to promote love not war.

A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, threatening to show the amusement he was finding in my attitude. 'Yes Rose, it will shut me up.'

I smiled. 'Okay then, pick me up in an hour.' I said before walking away and calling over my shoulder. 'By the way your driving, but I'm in charge of the stereo, we aren't having any of your out of date crap blasting through the speakers.'

'You haven't changed Rose.' He yelled after me, a soft chuckle caressing his words like a baby blanket. The words didn't effect me as much as they had yesterday, because I knew that he was finding delight in the thought of me still being the loud mouthed opinionated student he used to mentor.

I stopped at the door and turned to face him. 'That damn well better be a compliment, otherwise I will make your time with me today a living hell.' I warned before exiting the building.

**I just want to say really quickly, thank you so much for all you encouraging reviews it's really great to hear that you like the story. **


	6. Chapter 6

As I applied the finishing touches to my make up, I couldn't help but smile at my reflexion in the mirror. I didn't smile because my appearance was mesmerising or you know... I'm just that vain, but I smiled because I could feel my stomach churning with excitement and anticipation, triggered by the mere thought of spending the rest of today with Dimitri. I didn't want to feel this way when I thought of him or when thinking of the prospect of seeing him, but I couldn't help it. It was like he had this unbreakable hold on me and no matter what happens between us, he will always be able to make me feel things that scare the shit out of me. He will always have the power to make me want him; even if I know it will just cause me trouble and heartache. That's the thing about love though, it makes you irrational and has no consideration towards the negative effects it might have on your life.

I heard a knock at the front door followed by the sound of little bare feet slapping against the linoleum covering my living room floor. I glanced over at the alarm on my bedside table. He was early. Nothing changes there then. I heard the muffled voice belonging to Rosie as she invited Dimitri into our home. It had been arranged that Rosie was to stay with Adrian while Dimitri and I went to the mall. I didn't like leaving her with him again, not because he wasn't capable of looking after her, but because I felt like I was abusing his generosity and hospitality by asking him to look after her so frequently. I also felt as if I was shirking my responsibilities as her parental figure, to go off and do my own thing. But as discussed, it wasn't safe to take Rosie with us and expose her to a world without wards, a place that could have danger around any corner.

'Aunt Rose, Dimitri is here.' Rosie yelled, a little louder than she needed to, making me wince at the high pitch her voice took on when she hit a certain level of decibels.

'I'll be right out.' I called back, giving myself a final check in the mirror before leaving the room. Even I had to admit that I looked nice today. I hadn't made it obvious that I was trying to look good, but I wanted it to be seen that I didn't just throw on any old clothes, I wanted to create the illusion that I took pride in my appearance, even though it wasn't really an illusion, I did care what I looked like. At the back of my mind I heard a nervous voice warning me. This was too much like old times. Trying my best to look immaculate and amazing, to try and temp him to break his everlasting self-control. I shuddered. This was dangerously familiar territory and I would have to take it on myself that history would not repeat itself. I bit my lip and opened the door into the living room. I knew history wasn't going to repeat itself. Dimitri had injured my trust and confidence too much to allow us to go back to how things were. Because of all the pain and heartache he had inflicted on me, there was nothing that could be done that would make me want him again. Wait a minute, scratch that thought... of course I wanted him. I wanted him with all my heart and soul. I wanted him in every aspect available. But there was nothing that could be done that would make me weaken my shields and welcome him back into my life. He had caused too much pain; there was no recovering from what he did to us.

I looked at him sitting on the sofa, with Rosie showing him her dolls. He had a blonde doll in one hand and a plastic hair brush in the other. The scene playing out before me made my heart swell. He was so gentle, so caring and so wonderful. Ah... I despised that he could make me love him like I did. I had just about managed to block out the painful memories of him leaving me when he decided to re-enter my life, reawakening the old feeling that used to burn away at me till I felt I would loose my mind. But I suppose he never really reawakened my feelings towards him, because they never left me, to me he was always my soul mate, my best friend (in a different way to Lissa, because he understood things that even she couldn't grasp), he was my world. But by his absence I had been able to squash my attachment to him until I could almost completely ignore it, but by him coming back, he had set them alight again, leaving them to burn away in my body indefinitely.

'Rosie, honey. I don't think Dimitri really wants to play dolls with you.' I chuckled, picking up my purse from the table in the corner of the room and slinging it over my shoulder.

Rosie completely ignored me and pulled a purple jacket out of her pocket and gave it to him. With Dimitri sitting on the sofa, his huge muscled body looming over her small frame, the set up in the living room looked even funnier than I first imagined. 'Here you have to wear this one.' Rosie ordered.

I snorted and they both looked at me questioningly. Dimitri did his one eyebrow raised thing, daring me to say something about what he was doing. Well, he knows I can't resist a dare. 'Sorry comrade.' I laughed. 'But that really isn't your colour.'

His lips twitched up into one of those half smiles that I used to long to get when we were back at the academy, making my heart flutter like a humming bird flying off into the cloudless sky. He put down the doll, propping it on the coffee table, next to where he had placed his car keys and wallet, which he must have put there when he arrived. Then he slung an arm around Rosie, picking her up and popping her on his lap. 'Well, sorry Rose, but I don't think I'm going to come with you anymore, I've found a much more compliant companion, and she doesn't insult my fashion choices.' He said, tickling Rosie on her stomach making her squeal like a little piglet.

A sharp sense of déjà vu hit me. The light bantering set off memories of how we used to be when I first arrived at the academy, when we were both fighting a losing battle with the feelings we held towards each other. My skin prickled with discomfort as the realisation hit me that we were back to the beginning. We were behaving like we had when we were younger and it wasn't a reassuring thought. The banter going on now was like we used to have in my training sessions, apart from during them it was more one sided insults, or should I say Rose sided insults. I quickly thought of a come back before the silence would indicate that I was over thinking something. His keys caught my eye as they sat there twinkling at me, begging to be included in the joke. Before he could realise what I was thinking I snatched them up.

'That's okay.' I shrugged. 'I'll just have to go alone. I'm taking your car though because I leant Eddie mine.'

Before I could even blink, Rosie was sat on the sofa, looking as shocked as I felt and Dimitri was stood in front of me with the keys in his hand. The remainder of the worry he felt when I mentioned my driving, lingering in his eyes. Why did everyone have the same reaction where my driving was concerned? It wasn't like I was a bad driver, as far as I was concerned I was great at it. 'Let's go.' He said quickly, heading to the door before I could mutter another word. Honestly, guys and their weird over protective feelings towards their motors. You know it is bad when even Dimitri has a possessive attitude towards his.

Once we arrived at the mall we went straight to a shop which sold party equipment. I didn't really feel like we needed to decorate, I thought it would have been nice just to have a few people over, get take out and have a chat. But Rosie had insisted on going all out for it.

The car ride over had been a bit awkward. We didn't talk much, both of us being in a close proximity, confined in the metal frame of a car was a little too much to handle at the moment. I could see even Dimitri was feeling the tension. He let me be the DJ, so I plugged my iPod into his portable speakers and set it on shuffle. The music filled the empty space where conversation should be, making the awkwardness of the trip just about bearable. It was annoying being in this situation with him. I was itching to ask him questions that I knew were none of my business; I mainly wanted to ask what the deal was between him and Tasha? Were they together? Was he just her guardian? Why wasn't he with her now? But I knew that if I asked them I would not only being torturing myself, but opening up a whole can of worms that I wouldn't be able to handle.

'What do you think about this?' I asked, standing on my tip toes, pointing out the banner hanging on the wall. It was simple hot pink tissue paper cut into a continual row of butterflies. It was something Rosie would like and it meant they were easier to clean up afterwards.

'I thought the theme was Disney princesses.' He asked, flicking a hanging tassel that was directly over his head.

'Yeah, but these fit the criteria, I don't think Rosie will mind if one thing doesn't hold a Disney mark.'

He looked at it carefully, tilting his head to the side then he grimaced slightly. Not many people would notice, but because I could read his expressions like a book I could see the disgust in his face. 'But it's so girly.' He argued.

Oh my god, Dimitri Belikov, badass guardian, Russian god, was effective by a little bit of pink. I laughed and put my hands up in the air with exasperation. 'She's a girl!'

He didn't say anything else about the decorations and reached over my head, grabbing two packets containing the butterflies as they were out of my reach. Once we had rounded up everything we needed we headed over to the check out desk. In total we had got some paper Beauty and the Beast cups and plates, two of the butterfly banners, some party poppers, tassels to hang around the apartment and some napkins with an assortment of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Jasmine on.

There was an elderly lady working, maybe in her late fifties. She had cropped greying hair and dim grey eyes to match. She didn't exactly fit in with the surroundings, but she looked like she enjoyed doing what she did. She looked up and Dimitri and I and smiled. 'Is this for a birthday party for your daughter?' She asked innocently running our items through the cash register and bagging them up.

A nervous giggle escaped my lips, making my cheeks flush slightly, not many things had the power to show my embarrassment, but me and Dimitri being assumed as a couple with a child was one of them. Not because I was embarrassed the woman thought that, I mean anyone with him as a partner or husband would be flaunting him around, I know given half the chance I would, but it was the fact he was stood next to me and once us being together had been a possibility. I was hoping against hope that he couldn't read me as well as he used to, because if he did he would see that that assumption the lady had just made was something I dreamed about so regularly. That's the funny thing about dreams though. They never come true.

Dimitri cleared his throat and handed over two ten dollar bills. 'Er... no, just a party for our goddaughter.' Once she had given him his change back he snatched the bag and we both left the shop as quickly as possible. As we exited the store I leant a bit closer to him so the woman wouldn't hear me.

'_Our _goddaughter?'

He carried on looking forward, not looking at me at all. 'I didn't say our, I said yours.' He mumbled, trying to get out of what had just happened. Did he know me at all? I wasn't going to let him get off that easy.

'No, you said our, you said 'just a party for _our _goddaughter.'' I argued, stepping a little too close to him, making our arms bump as we swayed with the rhythm of our walking. I jumped back quickly trying to avoid the serge of electricity I felt shoot through my body whenever our skin met. I still wasn't quick enough, even with my strigoi killing reflexes to prevent the powerful jolt I felt.

His mouth pressed into a tight line and his guardian mask fell into his place. His eyes clouded over with annoyance. 'So what Rose, I mis-said something. Why make it a big deal?' He snapped. I felt my cheeks colour. Twice in one hour, this wasn't a good image for me. I had nothing left to say to him as we carried on through the mall seeing if there was anything else we needed. I knew if I spoke I would say something I would regret and I couldn't be bothered with an argument today.

'Is there anything else you need or can we go now?' He asked, not meeting my eye. He was still pissed off about his slip up and had decided to refrain from talking to me, since I'm the one who made him see the error he made.

'I'm just gonna go get a drink. I'll meet you at the car.' I replied, turning my back on him and walking over to the food court to buy a bottle of water. I didn't really need a drink; I just needed a break from his drastic change in mood. Honestly, talk about mood swings. I was only mucking around with him earlier; I didn't mean anything by teasing him. Anyway when we were at the academy I always used to tease him and it didn't bother him then. If he was going to be a complete and utter ass for the rest of the day then he might as well not come to the party. I felt a pang of sadness at the thought of that, although I didn't like the feeling I was experiencing, I wanted him there at the party more than anything. I know it is only a kid's party and everything, and you can't really even call it a party. But him being there, rewarding me with his presence would make the whole day perfect for me.

As I walked out into the parking lot, I saw him sitting in the car, his hands gripped tightly onto the steering wheel and his forehead was resting against the top of it. God knows what was going on in his head, I used to think I knew him so thoroughly, but when he closes off and pushed me away like he has, I don't know. I just can't seem to connect with the turmoil going through him. When I was about six metres away from him I felt a wave of nausea roll from the pit of my stomach to the back of my throat. That could only mean one thing. I grabbed for my stake which I had strapped to my leg under the cotton dress that I wore, but I was too later a hand reached out from behind me covering my mouth and dragging me into the darkness.

I thrashed and attempted to scream, but the person plastering my mouth managed to muffle the noise off. This wasn't good. I had been so distracted by the fact that Dimitri was acting all weird that I hadn't even bothered to check the landscape surrounding me. I had failed to apply basic novice training that could have saved me all this hassle. Now I was going to have to fight them, but with them having the advantage instead of me.

I got thrown to the floor, my head being smashed against the solid concrete, causing me to undergo a spell of dizziness and experience my vision to become temporarily impaired. I opened my eyes and looked up at the faces of the strigoi who had snatched me. There were three of them. All three were blonde males, all looking the same, all looking like clones of each other. It was creepy seeing a triplet version of the un-dead.

Within a second I managed to flip myself up so I was standing on my feet, still in the centre of the strigoi circle. They all had harsh sneers on their faces, their fangs exposed to my sight. I looked at the one in the middle mainly, however I didn't let the other two get out of my periphery vision. The centre one stepped forward. 'Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway. What a pleasure to finally meet you. We have heard terrifyingly great things about you.' He said, his voice caked with insincerity and poison.

'Yeah?' I asked, shifting so my weight was more evenly spread on both feet. 'Shame I cant say the same about you.' I probably shouldn't antagonize them, but what else was I to do? Show them how scared I felt knowing that I was dangerously outnumbered. Two I could handle, two I _had _handled, admittedly with the help of a water using moroi, but three? I didn't like the odds of this fight. But them something occurred to me. 'Why aren't you attacking me?'

The two on the sides started laughing, but the one in the middle remained tight lipped. He gave me a once over, his red rimmed eyes roaming over my body, making me feel dirty and in desperate need of a shower. 'The reason we are not attacking you, is because we have been ordered to capture you and wait until our leader gets here.'

My eyes bugged out of my head and I took an unsteady step back. 'Leader?'

'Yes, our leader, she will be here shortly.'

I swallowed. I had been afraid of my chances taking on three of them alone, but now I had to deal with four. I could feel fear settle in the pit of my stomach. It was good I was feeling afraid. I liked that feeling when I was fighting, it always made me concentrate more, but I wasn't going to let the strigoi know that I feared them. 'Yeah, and who is you 'leader'?' I asked, making quotation marks with my fingers when I spoke the last word.

'I am.' A voice sounded from the shadows. Seriously what was with me tonight, I should have noticed that one ages ago, not suddenly now, just because they spoke up. I narrowed my eyes. The woman's voice sounded strangely familiar. I knew it from somewhere, I had heard it regularly before Lissa and I went on the run. Oh shit!

'Mrs Karp?' I asked.

Instead of answering she simply stepped out of the shadows. Awarding me with the sight of my former crazy, spirit using teacher now in strigoi form. 'Rosemarie, how nice of you to join us.'

I raised my eyebrows at her and shook my head. 'I didn't really have a choice in the matter did I?'

She laughed an evil laugh that contained no humour. 'I see you are still as outspoken as ever Miss Hathaway.' Her face clouded over and she sliced her hand through the air in a finalizing motion. 'Enough with small talk. I came here because you have something that I want and you are the only person I can think of who can give it to me.'

I chuckled. 'Oh yeah, and what makes you think I would be willing to comply?'

She smiled at me sweetly; however on the face of a strigoi it just looked creepy. 'Because you see you are in a bit of a dilemma, but before we go into that, I want to introduce to you the newest member of my group.' She called out into yet more shadows. 'Reveal yourself.'

From the corner of my eye I saw a tallish figure step out from behind a building. Honestly, what was it with them all hiding in the shadows today? It was seriously beginning to piss me off. I focused on the newest creature to join our little meeting. There was something I recognised about the way he held himself, his black hair being ruffled by the wind and the stance he was positioned in.

No, please no. Please! This can't be happening, this cant be real. This has to be some horrible dream, one that I'm going to wake up from at any second. This isn't reality, it can't be. I felt my eyes begin to prickle but I blinked them dry determined not to cry. Goosebumps spread over my skin and the hair on the back of my neck stood up on end.

I did what had been drilled into my head not to do since I could talk. I turned my back on the remaining strigoi to look the newcomer fully in the face. His blue eyes sparkled but dimmed where the red ring circled them. I took an unnerving breath.

'Christian?' I asked, taking an involuntary step forward. Then against my better judgement and common sense. I screamed.


	7. Chapter 7

I saw Ms Karp raise her arm a fraction before I felt her hand whip across my face, backhanding me into the brick wall of the back of the mall. Her hit had smacked me at the top of my cheek bone just below my eye and due to that my eye now felt like it was on fire, about to burst out of the socket. I lifted my arm and carefully probed with my index and middle finger the delicate skin where she had assaulted me. I pushed myself into the sitting position, ignoring the screaming sears of agony that shot through my back and neck.

'Come on Rosemarie, you know better than to cause a scene.' Ms Karp chuckled crossing her arms over her chest and raising one eyebrow at me, like Dimitri always does. Does everyone know how to do that apart from me?

My left hand balled into a fist, I could feel my nails digging into my skin, so I tried to loosen the tension in my joints. Now probably wasn't the best time to start bleeding. My other hand contracted on my stake, forming an unbreakable hold. I gritted my teeth and forced myself up onto my feet. I took a deep breath before facing the monsters stood in front of me. I looked Karp straight in the eye before I sneered. 'What the hell did you do to my friend?' I pointed at Christian with the stake.

'Would you mind refraining from pointing that stake at me, they're not exactly known for being good for us.' Christian spat. Even as a strigoi he hadn't lost the dry, sarcastic sense of humour he had always adapted with me.

I turned my glare onto him for a second. 'Shut it fire boy.' I warned before turning back to Karp. 'Now I'm going to ask you again, what the fuck have you done to my friend?'

Ms Karp yawned. I think it was to get her point across that I was boring her and was of no threat in her eyes, because strigoi never needed sleep and therefore didn't need to yawn to express their tiredness. 'Rosemarie, Rosemarie. Even you can't be that dim not to see that your dear _friend _has been awakened.'

My body was actually shaking with uncontrollable rage. It was building up more and more by the second making me a human time bomb, ready to explode at any given moment. 'Why? Why did you do it? Why him?'

'Not that I am obligated to answer any questions from someone as unthreatening and unimportant as yourself, but this is what I was going tell you before you so rudely interrupted with your irrational outburst,' I waited for her to go on. I wasn't usually one to socialize with the un-dead, but there was something at the back of my mind telling me I needed to hear this, that this could be important should I want to fulfil my duty as Lissa's guardian. 'You see, as you know I am like Vasalisa, a user of spirit, and once awakened I came across an extremely important piece of information. But you see, as one, I can only have as much influence and power in the strigoi world as everyone else, but with Vasalisa, we could be the leaders of the strigoi, if she were to join me. We would own everything and be feared by all, even those of our own kind. And that is where Mr Ozera comes in, I thought that if I were to threaten to awaken him, we could arrange some sort of trap in order to get her to us, but when your friend Eddie came along that ruined my plan, I wasn't very happy. Until Christian here, got turned against him will and in his new form, informed me of your bond. Very interesting that Rosemarie. So it seems you are the key to me getting what I want.'

I laughed without humour. 'And you think I'll just pass her over to you? You think I'll give you my best friend in return for you letting me keep my own life?'

'No, I don't think that. I'm not naive or stupid. Christian has informed me of the lengths you have been known to go to, to keep her safe. But you see, if you don't give me what I want there is someone else I will make pay. I believe she is your goddaughter?'

I froze. Not Rosie, anything but that. Anything. I turned to Christian, nothing but hatred and disgust clouding my vision. 'She is your daughter, how could you do that to her?' I yelled, letting my emotions get the better of me. I took a deep breath and cleared the foggy haze that my rage had created masking my rational thought process. If I lost it now, I wouldn't be able to protect myself and fight.

Christian smirked and moved a step closer to me, forcing me to take a step back. 'Exactly Rose, she is my daughter. I want only what is best for her, just like my parents did for me. I can see why they wanted to turn me now. Being awakened opens so many windows that are closed to moroi. And my Rosie deserves nothing less than this.'

My mouth popped open, there was nothing left of Christian in that body. Sure it looked like him, but it wasn't him, he would have rather of died than let a strigoi harm a single hair on his little girls head, or Lissa's for that fact. That is why he ended up like he is now. Protecting Lissa. 'What about Lissa, don't you care what she wants.'

'Not really. I just want her. I want her to belong to me again, and once she is awakened then my desire will become reality.'

I heard a clapping and turned to see Ms Karp with a twisted grin on her face. 'And so you see Rosemarie, our plan is falling into place. Everything is now planned perfectly; next we just need to act on them.'

I clucked my tongue and smiled at her. There was something that just wasn't making sense about what she was saying. What use would Lissa be when she was turned; she would have lost the spiritual element. 'But why do you need to take Lissa? Once she is made into one of you she will hold no power.'

She let out a giggle like a couple of teenage girls talking about boys. Wow, did that noise sound messed up coming from her mouth. 'See now that is where you are wrong.' She smirked at me and then it hit me.

A stabbing pain ripped its way through my body, locking all my joints and making me crumble to the floor. It felt like a heard of football players were stomping over me with knifes on their shoes instead of studs. I bit into my lip trying to keep myself from screaming out. A warm metallic taste flooded into my mouth making me realise I had just broken through the skin. I tried to breath but every intake was stopped by the closing off of my throat. What was happening to me? I could feel the blood pounding through my body and even its common pulsation was too much pain to bear. I pinched my eyes closed and suddenly the pain disappeared. I peered through narrow slits in my eyes to see Ms Karp extremely pleased with herself.

'What the hell was that?' I gasped, trying to slow my breathing down and compose myself.

'Amazing isn't it?' She asked smugly. 'Well, I discovered that spirit is the only element that can survive the change, but it alters slightly like your body and soul.' I nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. I was guessing that when moroi were moroi and they were spirit users, that their spirit was able to do things that a good soul would do, however I'm guessing since Ms Karp changed from a healing moroi to a strigoi, and she now possessed a rotten soul, her healing abilities would be reversed, making her able inflict pain instead of relieve it.

'So now you can incapacitate people without actually touching them?' I asked and she nodded.

'Well, now I see why you want Lissa.' Just behind her I saw the flicker of a tall muscled body sneakily approaching and realised immediately that it was Dimitri. I had completely forgotten he was even here with me, what with everything going on. I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. I should have known he would come and help me. He said he wouldn't abandon me, not ever, and he had always stuck by that promise. Even when he left me, I knew that if I ever needed him all I had to do was call him and he would be there. I saw him approach, his eyes glistening with concern and fear for me. It was dangerous what he was doing, he should have left me and gone and alerted others, but not Dimitri, not where I was concerned. Strigoi senses were so enhanced I was surprised none of them had heard him approaching yet, but I suppose they were so caught up in gloating about their unfaultable plan that they hadn't been paying attention, but I knew my job was to distract them so he could catch them by surprise. 'There is only one problem with that plan. You're not going to live long enough to follow it through.'

One of the blonde strigoi spoke this time. 'What are you going to kill us all?' He asked sarcastically.

I chuckled. 'Nope, he is.' I said just as the Dimitri drove a stake through the speakers back hitting him directly in the heart. The strigoi screeched out in rage and agony before falling lifelessly to the floor. Just as Dimitri was about to pull the stake out the other two clones descended on him. 'Dimitri, back!' I yelled in warning while I pounced at Christian. He was ready for me and threw me off him and into an enclosed corner. Not good.

'I'll leave this to you Christian, do what you must and return to the cave when you are done.' Ms Karp said before shooting off at her unnatural speed.

'Ah Rose, this is going to be fun.' Christian sneered as he jumped at me, his leg aiming for my hamstrings. I managed to block the blow as much as possible but it still stung like a bitch.

'Is that all you got Ozera?' I goaded. He snarled in fury, his fangs exposed completely. He managed to get a hold on me, turning me so his teeth were centimetres from my neck. Not good. Not good. Not good. There was no way I would be able to stake him in this position so I grazed the point of the stake along him arm. Causing him to loosen his hold on me and jump back in shock and pain.

'You're gonna regret doing that.' He warned lunging at me again; knocking me back into the wall so I hit my head yet again. Seriously, this fight was going to cost me a dangerous amount of brain cells. 'I've got to say Rose, I am a bit disappointed. I would have thought you would have been more of a challenge than this.'

I folded my legs back into myself and released them quickly, the power behind them hitting him squarely in the chest, sending him back a few feet. It was a pain in the ass that he had been learning some defensive moroi fighting skills before he got changed. As a moroi he still wouldn't have stood a chance, but as strigoi and him putting all his newly acquired knowledge into good use he was a dangerous opponent. Unlike normal newly made strigoi he wasn't relying on his strength alone to defend him, he was using skill as well, which was bad news for me because he would be all the harder to kill. It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't going to be easy either.

When he went for me again, I managed to turn it around so he ended up on the floor with me straddling him. I had the stake ready; I was so close to bringing it down on his heart. 'Roza! Look out.' I heard Dimitri yell and I turned to find one of the blondes he had been fighting lung at me, sinking his teeth into my shoulder and ripping the skin.

I screamed out in pain and rage. I saw the strap of my dress had been ripped and the light material slowly began to tinge with red. Blood pulsed out of my shoulder at an unbelievable speed, I had a feeling this wasn't good news. I ignored it though because getting distracted by something so trivial at the moment wasn't going to help fight this battle.

I saw Dimitri finish the blonde he was fighting and then shoot towards the one who had injured me. Christian took this as a distraction and catapulted me off of him, shooting me at least six foot in the air before I came down with a bang. He was on top of me before I could blink and he pinned down all my limbs so there was no chance of my escaping this time. He pressed his lips to my ear and whispered softly. 'You know what Rose, I don't think now is the time for you to die, although don't get me wrong, I will finish you off one way or another, but if I do so now, that will cut all ties I have to getting my Lissa to join me, so I think I'll just leave you with a reminder that I am out there and after you, once I have what I want you will be gone.' He took the wrist connected to the hand that was holding my stake and bent my arm. 'Now this is going to hurt... a lot.' Then he lifted my arm and stabbed the stake into the fleshy skin just about my hip. I cried out, a tear escaping the corner of my eye then I squeezed my eyes shut. I wouldn't let him see how much pain I was in. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I felt his weight leave me and heard his amused laughter ring out in the cold late night air as he disappeared back to his leader.

I lifted my arm gently and placed it next to where the stake had been embedded in me. With shaking hands I tried to wiggle it to see how deep it was and by the level of hurt that shot through my body I realised it wasn't just a flesh wound like my shoulder was and I also realised that it probably wasn't the best of ideas touching it and disrupting the injury. God, my shoulder seemed insignificant compared to this. I turned my head just in time to see Dimitri pull the stake out of the third strigoi he had killed tonight, and then I dropped my head back down to the concrete. It was too much effort just to lift my head; I had the strength of a newborn baby at the moment. At least one of us were okay though, and if I had to chose I would always want him to be the one coming out unhurt. I couldn't lift my head again, I didn't want to see the mess I was in, I just about had a hold on my emotions, and I didn't need to witness the cause of the pain.

My eyes became droopy, threatening to close and allow me to escape into the darkening waters of unconsciousness. It was worrying that I could no longer feel any pain or hurt. I had gone completely numb, like my body had shut down all feeling. Not that I minded. I would much rather be painless than not. I knew it wouldn't last for long though, the slightest movement and I was well aware that I would be writhing. I shut my eyes peacefully. I knew I wasn't dying because Christian would have done it himself, slowly and painfully until I took my last my breath, this time he had just made sure that I was unable to move for a while and fulfil my role as a guardian. This was him making sure I wouldn't be able to get very far and out of his reach.

'Rose?' I heard Dimitri call me from where he was standing. He must have finally seen me, it took him long enough. I was glad that he hadn't seen Christian stake me (ha, I found it inappropriately funny that the tables had been turned and I had been the one staked for once.) because it would have distracted him too much and maybe cost him. His footsteps rung out in the empty air as he ran towards me. He slid an arm under my head and tried to hold it up. 'Roza, speak to me! Open your eyes.' His voice sounded scared and frantic, like it had when he had saved me from Natalie, the first strigoi I had ever come into contact with in person. But this time there was something new in his voice, there was loneliness, like he was scared to be left alone. That wasn't like my usual Dimitri; he didn't let things bother him.

I let my head loll in his arms and gave him my best attempt of a smile. 'Don't worry Comrade, I'm still present.' I joked, but my voice sounded feeble even in my own ears.

'Open your eyes and look at me.' He ordered. His voice still wavering with emotion but not as scared now that I had proved that I was still responsive.

I managed to do as I was told, seeing no point in arguing at this point. I couldn't open them all the way though because every time I did, I would see bright spots appear and I'm pretty sure they weren't actually there to be witnessed by anyone other than me. I saw his warm brown eyes looking down on me, hectic with worry and fear, what did he have to fear? He wasn't the one with a stake sticking out of him.

He stroked my cheek gently and a small smile appeared on his lips even though it did look strained. 'There we go. Now you keep them open and you keep looking at me okay? No closing them.' I nodded. 'Now I am going to call an ambulance, we need to get you to hospital.'

'No.' I whispered, clinging onto his shirt.

'Rose-.' He started but I cut him off.

'No, take me back to court, take me to the infirmary.' I said, pleading with my eyes.

'It's too far away, you've lost a lot of blood, and I can't risk it, not with you. You know I'd do anything you wanted, to help, but not this. You need help now.'

'Dimitri, think about it, how are we going to explain why I have a stake sticking out of me and bite marks on my shoulder?' His face went blank at the realisation that I was right. 'Exactly, you need to take me back to court, there is no other option, and the more time your sitting here arguing with me, the more time your wasting.' How I managed to sound so calm and unaffected, I'll never know because inside I was scared shitless. But I suppose I had my guardian head on and knew that freaking out wasn't going to help the situation at all. I panted once I had finished my long lecture to him. Talking, uncharacteristically, took so much energy from me now, it was strange and unnerving.

'Rose.' He sighed, pushing my hair back from my clammy forehead. 'How am I going to get you there?'

'In the car.' He lost some of the colour in his face. 'Don't worry, I'll try not to get the seats bloody' I joked, feeling the lure of darkness pulling at me again. I thought if I joked maybe it would take some of the strain and tension from the situation, but it just got him more worked up.

'I don't care about the seats.' He snapped. If he was going to be rude to me in my time of need then I was going to close my eyes and let myself sleep for a bit. I wasn't going to take any attitude from him. 'Roza open your eyes!' he all but shouted at me.

I glared at him which got a soft chuckle from him. 'Even when you're in a life and death situation you have to keep the bad attitude don't you?' He asked gently. Well duh, how else was I going to cope? 'How am I supposed to get you in the car?' He asked trying to catch me out.

I took a deep breath dreading the reality of this answer as I knew it was going to hurt and all the numbness that overpowered my pain at the moment would evaporate with this action. 'You're going to have to lift me in, and put me in the backseat okay?'

He winced at the prospect, but like me he saw no other way. 'It's going to hurt.' He whispered his voice barely audible. 'I don't know if I can cope hurting you like that.'

I found his hand and squeezed. 'You're not the one hurting me; you're the one helping me.' Surely he should be the one comforting me; I didn't see any life threatening injuries he possessed. 'I know it is going to hurt, that is why you need to do it quickly.' It was strange me being the voice of reason for once. It was usually him trying to break some common sense into my thick head. I found it bizarre that he was so unsure of himself and not thinking of the next step he needed to take in order to make things right. That just wasn't Dimitri.

He nodded his head once and slipped his guardian mask back on. I think that was the only way he could get through what he had to do next without freaking out. To be honest I found the Dimitri who showed his emotions more comforting at a time like this, but I knew this was a horrible thing I was asking him to do and if by shutting down was the only way he could handle it, then I didn't mind and couldn't blame him. With one quick movement he jostled my body into his arms and stood with me. Like I had predicted it hurt like hell. It shook the stake which I felt grating at the edged of my skin. The agony that seared through me was unbearable, and I tried not to cry out because I didn't want him to feel guilty about moving me. I had asked him to do it, this was my idea. But I knew him well enough to know he would beat himself up from any pain I received while he was moving me. I couldn't help it though, it was too painful and even I (someone with a huge pain threshold) couldn't contain the scream that was clawing its way up my throat, begging to be let out. 'I'm sorry.' He murmured into my ear. Then I fell into the depths of unending darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

Slowly awareness began to leak back into my mind and I realised that I was not at home in my nice comfortable bed. The bed I was lying in was a single cot and it was rock solid, no amount of jiggling around would make this piece of furniture comfy. Without opening my eyes, I guessed that I was in the infirmary. The memories of last night flooded back to me, I remembered it all perfectly, Ms Karp, Christian, the fight, getting bitten... getting staked. All of that seemed like a distant dream, something that couldn't have really taken place. I suppose the revelations told to me last night were so far fetched and unbelievably huge that I was finding it hard to get my head around. The thing that really stood out among all the events though, was Dimitri's attitude to what happened to me. First it was when one of the blonde strigoi bit me and he forgot about himself and his own safety and threw himself at the monster who had hurt me without a second thought, then when he had found me bleeding and stabbed, I had never seen him so flustered and unsure before and by seeing these emotions in him, which he rarely let anyone see, made me think. Was I really the only one who hadn't gotten over our relationship? Did he still love me as much as I loved him? And if he did, where do we go from here?

I felt a light pressure on my hand and by the texture of the person's skin, I had no doubt it belonged to Dimitri. His giant, soft but calloused hand gently caressed mine, making my heart speed up at the feel of personal contact with him. I felt his weight press down the end of the bed and I slid down into the dip his body created. His lips gently touched my ear and I heard him whisper to me gently. 'They told me you are going to be fine Roza, but I would really appreciate it if you would open your eyes and reassure me yourself.'

'You never did let me sleep in did you?' I croaked, a smile touching my lips. I slowly opened my eyes to be greeted by his own warm chocolate ones.

Relief flooded his features as he witness me stir. My body felt stiff and battered, like I had been asleep for ages. I thought I would be in more pain than this considering what I had just come out of, but the only real irritant I noticed, was that I was light headed, but that was probably due to the fact that I had hit my head so many times yesterday. He swept his hand across my forehead, shifting my hair out of my face.

'So Comrade lets talk damage control. What's the verdict?' I asked, my voice hoarse but strong. It made me sound like a chain smoker, but thinking about what I had managed to go through recently I didn't dwell on that fact too much.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair which had predominantly broken free of the elastic band he used to keep it secure at the back of his neck, and heavy strands were now framing his face. Then as he informed me of every injury he gently placed his hand in the air above them. 'You have a slight concussion, a black eye, a flesh wound on your shoulder, two cracked ribs, obviously a deep, but non-fatal stab wound and a sprained ankle.'

Wow, that was excessive, even for me. I bet that was going to keep me out of action for a while, or try to anyway. Like I'd let a little thing like stab wounds keep me confined to my bed. As if he could read my mind he frowned at me and shook his head. 'Don't even think about getting back to work. You have to take it easy for a week or so. You need to heal.'

'But I-' I began to protest, but he put a hand up to silence me.

'No. I don't want to hear it. You are no use to anybody unless you are fully repaired. You are to take it easy until you are told otherwise.' He ordered, trying but failing to suppress one of his small smiles, when he got a look at the disgruntled expression on my face. After a moments silence I saw something flash in his eyes, but it was there a gone before I could even attempt to analyse it. The way his warm brown eyes were burning away, it was like he wanted to tell me something, but at the same time didn't.

'Spit it out Dimitri.' I ordered. He had me curious, as to what would get him so unsure. He never really minded sharing his opinions with me before, even if he knew they were going to hurt my feelings.

'I'm sorry.' He stated, staring straight into my eyes, like he could forever brand him apology into my mind.

I laughed. 'It's not your fault I got staked. You've got nothing to be sorry about.'

He shook his head and swallowed before continuing. 'I have a lot of things to be sorry for Roza. You still look at me and perceive me as a saint, just like you did at the academy. You seem to think of me as larger than life, as invulnerable. It's like you choose to ignore the fact that I, just like everyone else can make stupid unnecessary mistakes.' I wouldn't say I thought of him as a saint, I had been and done things with him that most definitely wouldn't be deemed as saintly. But it was true, I still saw him as that impenetrable figure that I used to. Why? I don't know. But with him I felt that he could make anything happen and take on everything no matter what it was and remain fully intact. 'Regardless to your misguided thoughts when it comes to your incorrect impressions of me, I want to apologize. I'm so sorry Rose. I'm sorry you went through so many problems when you were at the academy that I wasn't able to take away. I'm sorry for all the harsh words we have shared. I'm sorry for letting you down when I gave you my word that I would look after you forever. I'm sorry about yesterday when I was rude to you. I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner. I'm sorry I left you five years ago.' Wow, how many times did he want to say sorry in the same speech? Talk about repetitive. I think that was the most I had ever heard Dimitri say in one sitting. Seems worrying about me made him into a right chatter box.

I shifted uncomfortably, bringing my hand behind me to push myself into the sitting position. I didn't want to talk about the past at the moment, I had enough to deal with, without the old emotions and feelings I felt towards what happened between us coming back. I cleared my throat hoping my voice may carry out a little better than it had a minute ago. 'Look Dimitri, it's all right you apologizing, and don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, but now isn't the time to talk about our issues.'

'No Roza, it is the right time. Seeing you there yesterday, broken and battered put it all into perspective for me. You have no idea what I felt when I saw you lying there, seeing what those creatures had done to you and not being able to do anything. It made me realise that I-'

I interrupted, cutting him off. He wasn't listening to me. I said I didn't want to talk about things now; I needed to concentrate on what was going on with Lissa and focus on keeping Rosie safe and away from Christian. 'Dimitri, I said not now.'

Dimitri shook his head at me, his eyes filled with determination, a determination I had no power to stop. Once he set his mind on something he stuck to it, no problem. When he had vowed to stay away from me and keep our relationship strictly student-teacher he had managed it... for a while. But still that while was longer than I had been able to keep up. 'Roza, I love you. I always have, always will.' He declared, staring me straight in the eye, his hand squeezing harder on mine.

How long I had waited for him to say that to me again, and now that it had happened all I wanted to do was run away and hide. I know, uncharacteristic for me right? But it felt like suddenly everything was being thrown at me and I had no idea how I was even meant to contemplate coping with it. I wanted to yell at him, scream, and make him pay for all the hurt and rejection he had put me through. I wanted to inflict the scars he had put on me mentally and emotionally, I wanted him to feel the weight of the grief I had had to endure when he left me, alone and vulnerable, wondering what I had done so wrong. But instead I surprised myself. I let my guard down and my mouth decided now was the moment to take on a mind of its own. 'I love you too.' I whispered, so quietly I wasn't sure he had heard me.

When he wrapped his arms around me I realised he had. He didn't say anything, he just held me, resting his chin on the top of my head. He had heard what he wanted and now he wasn't going to push me, or at least I hoped that that was the case. Then he leant down towards me and tried to lower his lips onto mine. That was when I pulled away. It took all the strength I had not to cover the distance between us and kiss him like my life depended on it, but I wasn't ready for that, we needed to iron out the fine print.

I shook my head and smiled at him nervously. He sighed and leaned back. 'Look Dimitri, before we get carried away I think we need to discuss things.'

He got off the bed and sat back in the chair at the side of me. His guardian mask slipped into place, flipping the switch to cover his emotions. He was scared I was going to reject him, push him away just when he thought we had gotten somewhere. 'Rose, I thought you said now wasn't the time to talk.'

'Oh and now you decide to listen to that do you? Now that you have gotten what you wanted?' I snapped, crossing my arms and wincing as it jostled the stitches holding my wound together. I immediately regretted snapping at him and softened slightly. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. What I wanted to say was, we need to discuss the present not the past. I'm not ready for that conversation yet.' He kind of glared at me; well at least it looked like a glare. Okay, I didn't appreciate that look. After all he had no one but himself to blame for my resistance at the rekindling of our romance. 'You can wipe that pissed off look from your face as well.'

He chuckled and his whole face became gentler, his features falling into a loving expression. 'Well, at least I know someone is feeling better. It's always a good sign when you're ready to reprimand me. What is it that you want to discuss Rose?' At least he was being reasonable now.

'How do I know you aren't going to leave me again? How can I trust that I am enough for you this time?' I asked honestly. There was no point trying to mask my paranoia when it came to my feelings of self-worth around him, if we were going to try this again, then we were going to have to be completely open with one another.

'Rose, you don't know all the facts about when I left, if you'd let me explain-'

'No.' what was it with him having the obsessive need to talk about the one thing I didn't want to discuss? 'We will talk about it, just not now.'

He sighed and thought through what he was going to say next. 'Then to answer the question. You'll just have to trust me.' He answered softly.

'But I did that last time and look where it got me. Alone and hurt.' I could feel my eyes prickle with tears at the harsh memories of the lowest point in my life.

'Do you love me? As in do you _really _love me?' He asked.

What kind of a stupid question was that? Was he being serious or just fishing for compliments? 'What?' I inquired, trying to understand where he was going with this.

'Do you love me?' He repeated his eyes boring into mine.

'Yes.' I answered, one hundred percent sure of my feelings towards him.

'Then don't you think it is worth the risk, until I prove myself and the love I hold towards you?'

I looked at him uncertainly. It wasn't that I didn't think that this was worth the gamble, because it was. I knew it was, even if I had to suffer the unbearable agony I felt when he moved on without me. But there wasn't just me to think about anymore. 'It's not that I don't think it is worth it, because I would walk through fire for another chance with you, that is how infatuated I am. But there isn't just me to think about anymore. I have responsibilities. I have so much to deal with.'

'Wouldn't it be better if we faced them together then? Just like we used to?'

I nodded and he leant forward and kissed my forehead. 'But if we are really going to do this, we need to go slow. I'm not jumping in with both feet right off the mark this time. We need to pace ourselves. You need to earn my trust back. Attempting to get over you was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and I don't know if I could do it again.'

He inhaled deeply and nodded his head in agreement. 'Okay. Slow.' Then he leant his face down to mine and gently pressed his lips against my own. The electricity that followed whenever we came into contact shot through me like I had stuck my finger in an electric socket and I opened my mouth to receive more of his kiss. My arms went around his neck, pulling him closer to me. It was like I was starving and he was my only source of food, my buoyancy aid if I were drowning. He pulled back to look at me, a smug grin on his face.

'I thought you said slowly.' He said, raising an eyebrow at me questioningly.

I chuckled and moved over to the edge of the bed so I was pressed against the railing. 'I did, and that is as much of me as your getting.' His deep husky chuckle joined my own and I couldn't remember the last time I had heard such a lovely noise. I patted the empty space next to me and looked at him expectantly. 'Come lie with me?'

I didn't know how he was going to fit in there next to me, I had moved so I was practically lying on the railing set on the edge of the bed to stop me from falling out, and I still didn't think there was enough room for him. I knew he was going to have to move me slightly as he got on the bed, but I didn't care, as long as I could feel him there, holding me. He sat down on the bed, tossing his shoes off then leaned over so he was spread out on the bed, lying on his side so that we could both fit comfortably. 'You know' he said tracing a line from the back of my ear, down to my neck, then on to my collar bone. 'Years ago when someone asked someone else to lie with them it meant they wanted to have-' I stopped him knowing exactly where his train of thought was at.

'Don't push it Belikov, you're lucky I've let you onto my bed at all.' I warned with mock annoyance. Then it hit me. Hang on. Had Dimitri Belikov just made a joke? That, I had _never_ heard before. 'And since when do you make jokes?'

'Since I'm finally feeling happy and whole again.' He murmured into my ear as I snuggled closer to him. I yawned and he stroked my back therapeutically. 'Sleep now Roza, you need rest. I'll be here when you wake up.'

'Okay.' I whispered seconds before I was taken off to the world of sleep. I was ready for a peaceful nap, free of worry and dreams. Sadly I was disappointed, because Adrian had other plans for me.

As I looked around me I realised with a shock that I was back at the academy, in the woods to be exact. The overwhelming size of the trees loomed over me like a mosquito net, protecting me from the sun as if it were a pesky insect instead of a much welcomed friend. The path I was stood on was unevenly spread out; leading the way to an old park bench which I was pretty sure wasn't there when I had attended St Vladimir's. And that was where Adrian was positioned, lounging on the rotting wood a smug grin on his face.

'Nice to see you looking better Little Dhampir.' He said, patting the spot next to him, indicating he wanted me to take a seat. 'How are you feeling?'

'Much better.' I smiled, accepting his offer of seating. 'How's Rosie?' I asked. An unwanted though crept into my mind. Since I was out of action, could Tasha change the decision Evette had come to, saying I was unfit to look after her due to my not so good health?

As if he knew what I was thinking he put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. 'Don't worry, I kept her at your place and I am staying there with her until you are ready to come home.' He laughed. 'She made you a get well soon card.'

I chuckled. Bless her. Thinking about her made me feel a slight ripple of guilt though. At the moment I was the closest thing she had to a mom. She knew Lissa was ill and at the infirmary, so in knowing I was there too would she think I wasn't going to come home to her as well? 'She knows I'm coming back though right, you told her I wasn't going to leave her?' I asked worriedly.

'Yes, I said you had an accident and were hurt but you were just getting patched up and would be home any day.' He replied confidently. Least he had sense not to tell her some of my injuries were serious. 'Everything is fine and under control.' He added.

I tilted my head and narrowed my gaze at him. 'Then why did you interrupt my peaceful recovery with your unwanted dream walking?' I wasn't mad at him, how could I be? He had really come through for me recently and I was really relying on his new found reliability. But I would have prefered to have a blank dreamless sleep just this once.

His face became serious and he shifted slightly, his back ramrod straight and wired by tension. 'There is something I think you should know, it's about Lissa.'

My breathing stopped and I held perfectly still. Had something bad happened? Had she died while I was out fighting her strigoi turned husband? If she had I would never forgive myself, I should have been there, I should have been with her to hold her hand and say goodbye.

'Relax Rose; nothing has changed with her condition.' He said softly, brushing a stray strand of hair out of my face.

'What is it then?'

'I'll explain it properly when you wake up as I don't think we have enough time for me to go through everything I think I know. But when I tell you I don't want you to get your hopes up about fixing it because I don't even know if I'm right or not, but I think... I think I know why she isn't waking up.' He stood up and stretched before looking down at me, still sitting on the bench, trying to absorb what he was telling me. 'Come see me when you wake up, I'm with Lissa and Rosie. I'll wait for you and then I will tell you everything.' He said before he disappeared along with the dream I had just been in.


	9. Chapter 9

I slowly came out of my sleepy state to find Dimitri's arms still wrapped possessively around me in an embrace that any other time would have had me hyperventilating with pleasure. However now I found it inconvenient. Seeing as he had fallen asleep, I didn't want to wake him, I didn't know how much rest he had had in the last day or so and I didn't want to deprive him of any much needed sleep. I needed to find out what was going on with Liss, or should I say what Adrian _thinks _is wrong with her. I looked around me; I was completely trapped until he woke up. My side of the bed was guarded by a cold metallic railing and he was blocking the other side. Climbing over him or the metal bars wasn't an option what with my injuries. Waking him up was the only way to get out of the room.

'Dimitri.' I whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. He let out a deep groan and rolled onto his back. You would have thought that with all his years of being a guardian he would be more alert when someone tried to wake him up.

'Dimitri.' I tried again, shaking him more forcefully. Still he remained unconscious, his eyes firmly shut and his breathing even. I sighed, well if he wasn't going to respond to my voice... I leant forward and gently pressed my lips to his, feather light.

I felt him smile and he mumbled against my mouth. 'Now, that Rose, is how you wake someone up.' I pulled back to see his eyes staring at me, still looking droopy from sleep.

'Well, now I know that for future reference.' I replied, sitting up as carefully as I could manage. 'Now move!' I ordered.

He scowled at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me to him, being careful of my bad side as he did so. 'And why would I do that?'

'Because you don't want me to hurt myself by attempting to climb over the railing.' I answered, staring at him, impatiently waiting for him to get his ass in gear and move.

'Where do you need to go?' He asked, releasing me of his hold but still not moving out of my way.

I made a shooing gesture with my hands and tried to roll him over a bit, all my actions were to no avail though. Seems no one could make the six foot five badass Russian god do anything he didn't want to, even me. 'I need to go see Adrian.'

His expression turned questioning. 'Why?' I don't think he expected Adrian to make a random appearance in our conversation.

I didn't have time to discuss this; I needed to see him straight away, because even if he was wrong about his assumptions, least it was giving us something to work with instead of the dead end brick wall we had been sat at since Lissa had been admitted to the medical centre. 'I don't know for sure yet, why don't you help me up and we can both find out together when we get there.'

He slipped off the bed without another word and popped his feet into his shoes before helping me to the edge. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of pain and soreness I felt while moving. I was expecting to find getting up a less than pleasant experience, but I was only in the slightest of discomfort, I'm guessing they must have pumped my body full of painkillers before I woke up. Dimitri told me he would be back in a minute and to wait for him before I tried standing. As he disappeared I realised I wasn't in one of those hospital gowns that I disliked so much with a passion. I was in my own clothes; my favourite grey sweatpants that I loved to sleep in so much, and a white tank top. How had I ended up in these?

I heard Dimitri enter the room and without looking up at him I asked him why I was wearing my own stuff.

'I knew you wouldn't be comfortable wearing anything other than your own so I went back to your place to get you them. Rosie helped me pick them out and told me they were what you slept in most of the time.'

I smirked and looked up at him and it was then, I realised why he had disappeared earlier. 'What the hell is that?' I shrieked pointing at the wheelchair he had stationed in front of him.

'It's a wheelchair.' He replied, completely seriously. Talk about stating the obvious.

'No Shit Sherlock. But what are _you_ doingwith it? Are you getting so old in your own age you need something to take the pressure off your aging joints?' I inquired sarcastically. I knew perfectly well why he had it and if he thought I was going to get in it and would allow him to push me around the infirmary in view of everyone, then he had another thing coming. I wasn't going to be humiliated like that. Honestly, I was Rose Hathaway; a few minor injuries weren't going to keep me from walking around.

'Rose, you know perfectly well that this isn't for me.' He said, exasperation caking his voice. Did he seriously think he could get me into that thing without me kicking up a fuss? I didn't need it, I wasn't hurting at all, and there was no need for him to baby me. He should have left it there for someone who truly needed it, someone who would benefit from its help.

'No I don't. I know it sure as hell isn't for me. So the only other person it could be for is you, isn't it Comrade?'

'Rose, don't act childish and get in the chair.' He ordered, I could see he was beginning to loose his temper with me. He could loose it all he wanted; there was no way I was going to cave on this matter.

'No.' I folded my arms over my chest and glared my death stare.

'Rose, I won't tell you again. Get. In. The. Chair.' I could see his teeth gritting together, trying to keep his anger in check to prevent me from seeing the annoyance I was causing him.

'I don't need it.' I replied calmly, still keeping my glare directed at him. He wasn't going to win. Not at this topic. I remembered back when he was my mentor, he pretty much always got his way. But I had been younger then and if you can believe it, less stubborn. So when thought about properly. I was doubly stubborn now. Ha, good luck to him.

'Do you want to see Adrian or not?' He snapped. Someone didn't have as much control over his temper as he would like to think, so it seems.

'Yes, I want to see him, but I can walk.' I insisted.

He smiled at me, pushing the wheelchair into the corner of the room and holding out his hand to me. 'Come on then, prove it. Walk over to me.'

'Fine.' I pushed myself off the bed and immediately regretted it. While remaining sitting my body had created the illusion that I wasn't as sore as I thought. How mistaken I had been. As soon as my left foot hit the floor my left ankle screamed in protest. Shit, I had forgotten it was sprained. Damn. My side where I had been staked didn't hurt too badly. It was mainly stingy, especially when I stretched. Okay, no I change my mind. I stood for a second longer and rethought. My stab wound hurt a fair bit as well. I bit my lip to stop a whimper from escaping my lips and ratting me out to Dimitri that maybe he was right and I did need some assistance getting over to Adrian. He remained watching me with amused eyes the whole time as I struggled to get a few steps. I stopped, trying to mask my heavy breathing. 'See, nothing wrong with me.' Then my ankle gave out from under me and I rocketed to the floor. Luckily Dimitri had seen this coming and with his amazing reflexes had shot an arm out and snatched me before I could cause myself even more damage.

He turned me in his arms so that I was looking up at him. The way we were positioned reminded me of those cheesy dance moves where the guy dips the girl, then gives her a heart stopping, cringe worthy kiss. A cocky grin spread across his face as I had just proven him right. 'Don't say a word.' I warned as he lifted me up and sat me back on the bed.

I can't believe he got me in the freaking chair! Just when I thought I had finally won a battle against him, I have to go and make a fool out of myself. Will my humiliation never end? I was meant to be the guardian that cheated death even in the direst of situations. I was supposed to be the one who could handle anything, and now I was being shown to people as not even being able to handle walking. Great.

'You better not be enjoying this.' I shot over my shoulder as we came to the end of the corridor where Lissa room was.

'Believe me Rose; I take no pleasure in your pain.' He said solemnly. He sounded sincere, so why didn't I believe him?

We got to the door and I put a hand on each side of the frame, stopping him from being able to push me into the room. It was bad enough the infirmary staff had seen me like this, there was no way I was letting Adrian see me like this too. I wouldn't hear then end of it if he did.

'Rose seriously? Do we really have to go through this again?' Dimitri asked, walking around the chair so he could face me.

'I can make it from here.' I insisted. Supplying him with my man-eating smile, hoping it may sway his opinion enough. I think it worked to an extent, but not enough to make him comply with my wishes.

'You couldn't even walk three steps earlier, what makes you think you will miraculously be able to now?'

He had me there, I didn't know if I would be able to, but I sure as hell was going to either find another way, or try by myself. 'Can't you get me some crutches or something?' I asked hopefully.

He shook his head. 'I tried that, but apparently it will put too much strain on the stitches because of where they are. It could cause them to weep then they'd have to redo the dressing on it.'

'That's okay; a little blood never hurt anyone.' I smiled, knowing that he definitely wouldn't get me any crutches.

'No.' Well, that was a final answer.

'Then how am I supposed to go in then?' If he said I could get in using the chair I was actually going to throw something at him. Well, when I was near something that I could throw.

'By using the chair.' He answered. Mental note to self: find something heavy and sharp to throw at his head later.

'Fine.' I said, bracing myself on the door frame and carefully lifting myself out of the chair. 'If you won't help me then I'll just have to do it myself.'

As I stood up straight I pressed my hand against the bandaging on my side and took a deep breath. I tried to favour my left ankle and put most the weight on my right. I decided that if I were to take baby steps then I might be able to make it to the couch in there so I could sit down.

After I had taken a slow step, I heard Dimitri sigh next to me, then I felt his arm wrap around my waist, taking most of my weight. 'Honestly, what is it with you? Anything to save face.'

I looked at the small gap the door created and pointed it out to Dimitri. 'You do know we both aren't going to be able to walk through that at the same time.'

'Yes I know that. Watch yourself.' He warned before he slipped one of his arms behind the back of my knees and the other at the back of my shoulder blades, then he picked me up, bridal style. He side stepped through the door, smiled at a shocked looking Adrian and then placed me down on the sofa so I was lying on it; however he lifted my legs up so he could sit down then dropped them so my feet were in his lap.

I hadn't seen Rosie in the corner when we had entered the room, but soon realised she was three when her booming high pitched voice screeched my name. 'Aunt Rose!' She catapulted from where she had been stationed and threw herself onto me, thankfully missing my bad side.

'Hey sweet pea.' I said kissing the top of her head. 'Did you miss me?'

'Yes.' She nodded. 'When are you coming home?'

I looked at Dimitri, forgetting when he said I would be all clear to leave.

'Tomorrow.'

I smiled at her. 'You hear that? You'll have me back tomorrow.' I looked at the corner she had been sat in, where her paper and pens had been thrown carelessly all over the floor. 'Now why don't you go finish your drawing while I talk to Adrian?'

'Okay.' She said before toddling off back to what she was doing.

Adrian pulled a chair over and sat opposite Dimitri and me. 'Are you two back together?' I could tell that he knew we were, and by the way he was looking at me indicated he didn't know what to think about it. He had gotten over any feelings he had for me years ago, but he was protective of me, like friends are, and he knew how much Dimitri had hurt me. I think he was weary, not wanting to be the one to help pick up the pieces of my broken life again.

'Yes.' Dimitri stated, trying hard to suppress one of his half smiles. It would never get old, hearing him say we were together again. There was nothing to say that our relationship was wrong. No one to tell us we couldn't be together. This time everything was right.

There was an awkward silence, so I thought it was probably best to start talking about the real reason we were here. Lissa. 'So Adrian what do you think you know?' I asked, curiosity burning away at me almost uncontrollably.

'Well, when I brought Rosie here, once Belikov came back and told us what had happened, I was sitting with Lissa and you know how spirit users can sense other spirit users, well being in such a close proximity and focussing on her wholly, I felt the healing spirit she was using. It's like she has a circuit forever generating spirit. I can feel she is trying to heal herself, but because she isn't conscious she can't get enough power behind it, and because she can't get enough power behind it, I think that is why she can't wake up.'

I sat in silence for a moment, processing what I had just been informed of. In a way, it made sense. The doctors couldn't find any proper medical reasons as to why she wasn't waking up, they said it was like she was constantly tired and by using her spirit to try and heal herself, she was going to be constantly tired. So maybe Adrian was right.

'That makes sense.' I said, deep in thought. But if this was the case, what was to be done about it? How could we try and fix it?

Dimitri spoke my query before I was given half the chance. 'But how do you suppose we go about fixing it?'

Adrian sighed, running a hand through his hair. This is obviously where the information came to either a tricky area, or a complete stop. 'This is what I have been thinking about since I figured it out. But I think, we need to find another spirit user with the ability to heal. I can't be of any use as my healing abilities are too small. So we need to find someone else who would be willing. But obviously I won't be able to tell just by being near someone if they hold that power, I can only tell if they hold the element. I'm sorry I can't be anymore help.'

'No Adrian, you've done enough. Thanks to you we now have something to go on. I just wish the solution was a bit easier than finding another healer.' I admitted, my brow creasing in thought.

I stayed with Dimitri, Adrian and Rosie for around two hours before Adrian said he was going to take her home. At that point Dimitri decided it was a good idea to take me back to my room. I said goodbye to Lissa and promised her that I would get her better again... somehow.

Dimitri didn't make me go in the wheelchair on the way back. Now he knew that I wasn't hurt by him carrying me, he carried me back to my room, just like he had when taking me in to see Adrian. I didn't know if or how things were going to work with Dimitri, but I knew at a time like this there was no one I would rather have with me, and I decided to not worry about the future, I would let the chips fall where they may and hope that things would turn out for the best.

When we entered my room there was an additional piece of furniture. In the corner a fold out bed had been placed with folded sheets, a pillow and a blanket on top. 'What's that doing here?' I asked.

'Oh, earlier before you woke up I asked if I could have a spare bed set up so I could stay the night.' He replied casually.

'Why? It's not like I'm in a critical condition or anything.' I saw his face fall slightly at me arguing why he was staying with me. 'Not that I don't want you here.' I amended, not wanting him to think I didn't want him with me, because the company would be nice tonight. 'But I don't want you to stay because you feel you have to.'

His face kind of closed off of any emotion before he admitted to me quietly, like it was something to be embarrassed about. 'After the strigoi fight, I just feel like I really need to be near you right now.'

He didn't offer anymore information than that, and I didn't ask for any. I could tell he felt unnerved opening himself up to me like that, and it was obvious it had taken a lot of courage for him to be so exposed. 'Okay, but you don't need another bed. We fit on this one perfectly well earlier.' I smiled, as he put me down.

I got Dimitri to lower the rail on the side I had been asleep on earlier and managed to stand to pull back the bed covers before climbing in. I kept them pulled back so he could join me and then I snuggled up to him, laying my head on his chest. It was a squeeze but a comforting one. 'What am I going to do about Lissa?' I asked out of the blue. 'It could take years for me to find another spirit user who can heal.'

Dimitri was silent for a while; deluding me into thinking he had fallen asleep. But then he gently stroked my hair repetitively, the action soothing me, pushing me closer and closer to the edge of sleep. Just as I was about to drift off, so I couldn't even be sure he said it to me, he whispered. 'Leave it with me Rose, I might know of a solution.'


	10. Chapter 10

I was glad to finally get home and back to my life and Rosie. Although I had only been in the Infirmary for a day or so, it still felt great to be back. Adrian, Dimitri and Rosie were there to welcome mehome. Once I had settled in Dimitri left to get an overnight bag from the guardian block he had been staying in since he had arrived with Tasha. The doctor had advised that I have someone stay with me to help with the usual around the house tasks and Dimitri had been more than willing, if not eager, to be the one to stay with me. He had taken Rosie with him as well, promising her some ice cream for the way back.

It was funny being left alone with Adrian. Over the last week he seemed to have lost his spark. He hadn't made one suggestive joke to me, or well, made any jokes about anything really, and it was so not like him. Usually I wanted to gag him to try and make him shut up but now I was dying to hear an inappropriate comment or a sarcastic remark. I wondered into the kitchen, with him a couple of steps behind me, ready to make myself a coffee and him, well I was just going to get all the alcoholic substances I had out and let him take his pick. I was guessing he would go for the vodka.

I opened the cabinet above the surface I was preparing my drink on and realised that the coffee granules were on the very top shelf. That was going to be fun trying to retrieve. I pushed myself onto my tiptoes, my ankle still stiff but not as painful as the day before, let's just say, I could deal with it. I held my side and stretched, reaching as high as I could manage. My fingertips swerved the box further back into the cabinet and I turned to Adrian to see he had an amused expression on his face. 'Don't strain yourself Ivashkov. Why don't you just let me struggle to get the coffee?' I asked sarcastically, scowling at him.

He chuckled and leant over me, grabbing the coffee and thumping it on the counter. 'There, I'll help you get it this once, but just so you know, reaching for things isn't in my job description.'

I raised my eyebrows at him and smirked. 'What _is _in your job description?' Job description. Adrian hadn't worked a day in his life, funny choice of words, I thought.

'Helping you shower and putting you to bed.' He winked at me seductively.

'In your dreams.'

'Is that an invitation?' Adrian asked.

I folded my arms and glared at him menacingly. 'You even think about walking into my dreams and doing that, I'll make sure you never dream walk again, or walk in general come to think of it.' I warned.

'That sounds risky and I find nothing sexier than a risk.' He puckered his lips and blew a kiss to me.

I see the infuriatingly flirtatious Adrian hadn't left for too long. Honestly, I'm alone with him for a matter of minutes and he's already hitting on me. The effect I have on some guys. 'Shut your mouth Adrian, or I'll shut it for you.' I threatened, picking up my mug and hobbling into the living room and throwing myself down on the sofa.

Adrian decided he had taken his flirtatious bantering far enough and plopped down next to me, his drink in one hand and he had miraculously made a cigarette appear in the other. Seriously I think he must have smoked them so much he could genetically produce them now. He put his drink (which I am assuming is neat vodka) on the coffee table and fished in his pocket for a lighter.

'How many times do I have to tell you that you can't smoke in my apartment?' I asked exasperated. I couldn't help but smile at the expression on his face as he saw it was raining heavily outside.

'But Little Dhampir, it's raining outside, you don't want me to get ill from standing in the cold do you?'

I laughed at the misplaced innocence presented on his face. How could anyone really stay mad at that face? As long as he didn't talk, you would assume he was a loving, caring person with no dirty stinking smoking habit, or obsessive drinking problem. 'Fine, you can stay in here, but you have to go sit by the open window.' I said, pointing at the window over the other end of the room.

He huffed and then got up to comply with my wishes. Just as he had settled himself down on the cushioned window sill, I heard the front door slam and then Dimitri's soft voice calling out to me.

'In the living room.' I yelled, before getting bombarded with an excited Rosie.

She had chocolate ice cream smudged over her little face, but the huge grin she held made her look cute instead of mucky. I kissed her on the top of her head and positioned her so her sticky chubby cheeks were as far away from me as possible. I love her and everything but I didn't need any chocolate gloop to accompany my make up.

'You know Rosie, you're meant to eat ice cream, not wear it.' Adrian spoke up unhelpfully from his little smoker's corner.

I chuckled quietly then placed my lips to her ear and whispered to her. 'Don't worry Adrian is just jealous that he didn't get one too.' She smirked and nodded her head, then twisted around so she was facing him fully and stuck her tongue out at him.

Adrian smiled widely at her then turned to me. 'Rose, I think you've spent too much time with her, your influence is rubbing off, she's like a mini Rose, and I think one Rose Hathaway is all we can handle for one life time.'

I pulled Rosie into a hug and she laid her head on my chest. Making sure she couldn't see me, I lifted my left hand and flipped him off. 'Feisty.' I heard him mutter before Rosie interrupted what could have irrupted into another bantering session.

'When are we going to Russia Aunt Rose?' Rosie asked randomly. Lifting her head so she could gaze at me. 'Dimitri said we were going.'

'He did, did he?' I asked and she nodded. I turned my attention to Dimitri, widening my eyes at him questioning. He looked at me steadily in the eye but I could tell he had no intention of answering me without me actually voicing my question. 'Why did you tell her that?'

Adrian sighed, standing up with such a racket that all of us turned to look at him. 'If you will excuse me I am going to get another drink. I can sense this is going to turn into an argument and I am no where near drunk enough to have to watch your lover's dispute. Come on Rosie, let's go clean you up and leave these two kids to their own affairs.' He extended his hand to Rosie and she darted off of me and over to him, clasping his hand tightly in hers.

'No Adrian wait, this involves you as well. Come, sit and listen to this.' Dimitri said, motioning to the spot on the sofa next to me for him to sit.

'What have I got to do with you three going Russia?' Adrian asked, accepting Dimitri's offer of seating.

'I'm sorry. Hit the brakes a second. First of all. We're not going to Russia. Secondly, why did you tell Rosie before you even discussed it with me? And thirdly, why do you think now is an appropriate time. Oh and before I forget, what the hell has Adrian got to do with this?' I said, glaring at both of them, as they seemed to have forgotten I was a major part in this fictional idea.

Rosie wondered back over to me realising that Adrian wasn't going to clean her up after all and she grabbed my hand. Then everyone in the room including her focused on Dimitri, since he seemed to be the one with all the answers. 'Shall I start from the beginning?' He asked, mainly aiming his inquiry at me.

'If it wouldn't be too much trouble.' I replied sarcastically, glaring at him evilly.

He ignored my attitude and began to explain what the hell was going on. He focussed on Adrian more than me, whether he was expecting a more compliant attitude from him I don't know, but I didn't appreciate his ignoring me, like I wasn't as significant in his plan. 'It was yesterday when you said about needing another spirit user with the power to heal. Back home, my family are friends with a spirit user. Her name is Oksana. She is very much like the Princess, and I think if we went over there and spoke to her, she would help us.' He said. Finally turning back to me.

I smiled apologetically, okay so I didn't know the trip was for Lissa. If I had known that I wouldn't have been so moody with him, even though he should have spoken to me first before making arrangements for all of us.

'What makes you sure she will help?' Adrian asked, considering he had been drinking high volume alcohol, you wouldn't think he would be able to think clearly enough to ask a sensible question like that.

Dimitri smiled and turned the whole of his attention to me. 'Because she is bonded just like Rose and the Princess. She knows how powerful the connection is, and I think that just by imagining loosing Mark, the person she is bonded to, is powerful enough to convince her to help Rose out.'

'Okay then.' Adrian said, getting up and clapping his hands together. 'Looks like you are off to Russia.'

'Will people stop saying that when I haven't even been asked if I want to go?' I argued, scowling at the plotting pair of males occupying most the space in my living room.

Dimitri sighed. 'Okay Rose. Would you like to go to Russia to meet Oksana?'

I smiled sweetly and nodded. 'Yes, I would like that a lot, thank you. See, all you had to do was ask.' I pointed out at the end.

'Right, with that settled, I think I need a drink. Come on Rosie, while I'm at it I'll clean that mess off your face.' And this time I think that he actually intended to clean her up.

She scowled at his back then trotted off after him. He was right; she was getting an attitude, just like me. Lissa was going to kill me.

I spread myself across the couch and rested my head on the arm rest. My eyes were starting to droop, the pain medication I had been prescribed was great apart from one of the side effects was that it made you drowsy.

'You are worn out, you should go to bed.' Dimitri said, sitting on the floor at the end of the sofa my head was at. He gently stroked my hair and leant forward to press the gentlest of gentle kisses on my lips.

'I'm fine for a minute, I'll just chill here for a second.' Then I changed the subject. I appreciated his concern and consideration towards me, and don't get me wrong, I loved the feeling of him looking after me, but I didn't want to be babied. I didn't want to be treated like I was incapable of looking after myself. So even though I was tired enough to go to bed, I stayed up... just because I was that stubborn. 'So, what's going on with our trip yet, have you organized everything or have you just come up with the plan?' Against my will I yawned.

'When Rosie and I went back to my room, I called my mother; she said we were more than welcome to stay there, all three of us. She said Rosie can have her own room because my nephew can have a blow up bed in Karolina's – my older sister's – room. Then you and I will stay in my old room. So now with where we are staying sorted, I just need to book the flights.'

He had pretty much sorted or at least thought of everything. The only thing I needed to do was pack. 'So when are you wanting to go?'

'I was thinking. If we give you tomorrow to completely relax then we can go the day after. That way you will be completely rested and you wont be as uncomfortable on the flight.' He replied.

'Sounds good comrade.' I smiled. So, it looked like we were going to Russia.

I was glad that Dimitri had thought about taking Rosie with us. It made sense for her to come along. By taking her with us, we were taking her as far away from Christian as possible, she would be safe with us. It might even be good for her to get away from all the problems she had to deal with that were too grave for a three year old to handle.

'Dimitri? Do you honestly think this will work?'

He sighed and took my hand to squeeze it reassuringly. 'I honestly don't know. But we won't know until we try will we?'

'Guess not.' I admitted.

I guess the only thing we could all do was hope. So far this had been the only breakthrough we had come across. I was trying not to get my hopes us, because I didn't want to have them crushed when it didn't work. But it was hard not to get excited at the prospect. My heart was telling me this had to work. That Lissa was going to wake up and everything would be fine after that, but my head knew better. My brain registered that this was a long shot. But when you only have so many straws, you need to grasp them. Everything was going to be fine. Dimitri, Rosie and I were going to fly half way across the world to try and bring back our healing source and Adrian would stay at Court to be our informational source when it comes updates on Liss.

This plan seemed to be completely foolproof. But I knew better than anyone, that looks could be deceiving.


	11. Chapter 11

Don't ask me how I managed it, but I was able to get mine and Rosie's suitcases packed and ready to go an hour before Dimitri had said we needed to head to the airport. There was so much stuff we needed to take, but we didn't want to have to pay extra at the airport if our bags weighed more than the regulated weight, so I had to pack as lightly as possible, considering we didn't know how long we would be in Baia for.

As the three of us walked through the departure gates, I felt dread settle in the pit of my stomach. The thought of flying was not a comfortable one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a nervous flyer or anything, but ever since I had killed my first strigoi five and a half years ago, I have experienced these excruciating headaches and when they get really bad, I even see ghosts of dead people I have known or seen. I had been told it was because I was shadow kissed, something about the fact that when I started killing strigoi, it made the connection between me and the dead more powerful.

We settled in our seats and buckled up. Rosie was sat by the window, with me next to her and Dimitri in the isle seat. It worked out best sitting like this, because I got to sit in the middle of my two favourite people, Rosie got to watch out the window and Dimitri could stretch his long legs in the isle if he got too uncomfortable. I fished in my pocket, checking I had some painkillers handy should I need them, which I knew I would.

Once we were up in the air my much expected and dreaded migraine kicked in. I bit my lip and mentally swore. I closed my eyes tightly and got out the pack of aspirin I had checked I had earlier.

'Rose, are you okay?' Dimitri asked, placing his hand on my leg and squeezing reassuringly.

I opened one eye. 'Yeah don't worry comrade, just the usual.' I replied showing him the packet of painkillers.

'You still suffer when you fly?'

'Yep, but what you gonna do?' I laughed without humour, dry swallowing two pills. Ugh, I hated the taste of them without water, it was gross. 'I'll just sleep and that should make it bearable. Keep an eye on her majesty here next to me would you?'

He nodded and wrapped his arms around me and I leant into him as much as possible, which wasn't a lot considering we were in a cramped confined area and we had an armrest separating us. The steady rhythm of his breathing was more soothing than any lullaby could be, and soon I relaxed enough to allow sleep to come in and captivate my headache and release me from its painful grasp.

My nap had been a peaceful one with no intrusive dreams or dream walkers, and for that, I was extremely grateful. It felt like I had only slept for a few minutes when Dimitri gently shook my shoulder and murmured to me to wake up.

'Five more minutes?' I asked hopefully, knowing the answer before he even graced me with one.

'No.' He chuckled, can't blame me for wishful thinking. 'Come on Rose, we're here, unless you want to fly back home, I suggest you remove yourself from the aircraft.'

'Aunt Rose, you lied to me. It isn't snowy. You promised it was like a... ' Rose whined, struggling to find the word I had chosen to describe Russia with. I didn't open my eyes to look at her, but I could guess she had her face pressed up against the window, staring at the non-snowy weather with outrage and disappointment.

I giggled and snuggled into Dimitri more. 'Arctic wasteland.'

Dimitri seemed to choke on his intake of breath. 'Well, if you think that, when you look outside you are going to be sorely disappointed.'

I sighed and opened my eyes, making sure that I looked straight out the window. And I was completely speechless. Outside looked... well it looked like normal. It was the same as back home; it was the same as every place I had ever been. The weather was warm, the sun was out and the ground was concreted. There was nothing arctic or snowy about it.

I turned to Dimitri and smirked. 'No, I don't like it, take me home.'

He leant forward and placed his lips on mine. 'No chance.' He whispered against my lips, just as Rosie leant over and squealed. 'Ewww!'

I turned to face her. 'When your older and have a boyfriend and you kiss him in front of me, I'm going to repeat exactly that and embarrass the hell out of you little girl.' I warned, tickling her under her chin teasingly.

'I won't ever have a boyfriend, boys are yucky.' She replied, looking at me as if I had suddenly grown three heads or was from another planet.

'Don't say that, you'll hurt Dimitri's feelings.' I said, patting him on the shoulder, smirking at him. 'I don't think he appreciates being referred to as yucky.'

'Dimitri's not yucky.' She protested, still giving me that alien look.

'But you said boys are yucky.' I answered. I was pretty sure my expression now mirrored hers. Honestly, how can little kids with such simple minds confuse adults so much?

'Yeah, they are yucky.'

'Then that is insulting Dimitri.' I pointed out.

'How?' She asked, judging by her face she was as confused as I was at this point. Mental note to self, never have kids, they're too much of a headache causer.

'Because Dimitri is a boy.'

Dimitri nodded beside me, just as puzzled by Rosie as I was. It was funny seeing him so baffled, it wasn't an expression I was familiar with seeing spread out on his face.

Rosie surprised both of us by letting out a high pitch laugh. 'Dimitri isn't a boy.'

'What?' I asked. 'Yes he is.'

She shook her head. 'No he isn't.'

Dimitri wrapped an arm around my shoulders; I could feel his smirk against my neck. 'She's right Rose, I'm not a boy. I'm a man.'

Rosie sobered up and looked at him levelly. 'No you're not.'

His smirk dropped. 'I am.'

'Nu-uh.'

I was finding this conversation funnier by the second. The great Dimitri Belikov had just been ripped down by a three year old girl. He would never live this down. 'What is he then Rosie?'

'He's a guardian.' She stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I sniggered, looking at Dimitri with amusement clouding my eyes.

Then, I held up a hand and looked at my goddaughter questioningly. 'So let me get this straight. Dimitri isn't a boy or a man or even a member of the male population, because he is a guardian?'

'Yep.' She smiled, as we all stood up and made our way off the plane, following the other passengers as they led the way to the exit. I wasn't going to argue with Rosie, seeing Dimitri taken down a peg or two by an infant was just too good an opportunity to pass up or try and solve.

As we walked down the steps leading from the plane door I leant down and whispered into his ear. 'You've just had your manhood questioned by a three year old; I bet you feel masculine now.'

He turned and scowled at me, before carrying on towards luggage claim.

It was day time as we drove to Dimitri's childhood home. I was thankful for that benefit as I really didn't feel like having to kick some strigoi butt today. I wanted to just chill and enjoy the first and only day of my vacation, as it was going to be the only day I had to myself before I dedicated the rest of the trip to helping out Lissa. Rosie was knackered from the journey and as soon as I had placed her in the backseat of our rental car, strapped in the car seat we had been provided with, she was fast asleep. I wish I could sleep as easily as her, she was one of those people who seemed to be knocked out the moment her head hit the pillow. When I wanted to sleep it usually took me an hour of tossing and turning before I could drift off.

'So Dimitri, how does it feel to have a three year old tell you that you aren't a man?' I asked, teasingly. Drawing a pattern on his shoulder with my finger tips as he drove.

'Degrading.' He answered blankly.

'Ah, come on Comrade, you know she didn't mean it. On behalf of my goddaughter, I apologize.'

He cleared his throat and threw a quick glance at me. 'Not good enough.'

I chuckled and shook my head. 'How would you like me to make it up to you then, if you won't accept my apology?'

He remained silent, and I could pretty much guess where his train of thought was at. But then just as I was about to speak again, he beat me to it. 'You know Rose, you're missing the big picture. If I'm not longer male in the eyes of your goddaughter, because I am a guardian, then doesn't that mean the same for you; you are no longer a female because you are a guardian.'

I smirked at him and sniggered. 'No.' I sighed. 'It doesn't mean the same because you see these.' He shot another glance at me just as I gestured towards my breasts. 'Give the game away that I am in fact a woman.'

I saw a glint in his eyes but he turned his gaze away from me before I could investigate further as to what it meant. I had seen that look in his eyes before, I was sure I had. And if my memory served me correctly, that look was undiluted suppressed lust. 'We're here.' He said, clearing his throat and pulling onto a street before driving up to a smallish house, on the corner of the sidewalk.

I climbed out of the car, going straight to the back so I could sling Rosie onto my hip and carry her peacefully into the house. The engine cut out and Dimitri came up to me straight away, putting a hand off my shoulder and turning me so he could take Rosie. 'Just because you were discharged from the hospital doesn't mean that you can lift things, or people.' Rosie tightened her little arms around Dimitri's neck and she nuzzled into him so she could rest her head more. I didn't argue, because it wasn't exactly comfortable trying to carry Rosie, although it didn't hurt me or anything.

I went to the back of the car and flipped the trunk up so I could get the suitcases out. 'Rose, seriously. If you even attempt to lift the luggage, I'm actually going to have to physically restrain you.' He warned. Exasperation and worry lathering his voice.

'That sounds like it could be fun.' I smirked, winking at him suggestively.

'Rose, I am telling you now. Leave the stuff.' He ordered, pretending not to be effected by our flirtatious bantering. But unfortunately he had that face on which told me that he was going to get his own way. The determination that he was going to control the situation and there was no way I was going to go against him.

'Fine.' I sighed. I slammed the trunk closed and stomped over to his side. 'But don't for one second think I'm going to do everything you tell me to just because I obliged this once. Because I won't.'

'Nothing changes there then.' He murmured into my ear. His breath tickling me skin and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end. 'You ready to meet the family?' He asked just as a woman, whom I was guessing was his mother who looked in her forties, swung open the door, her deep chocolate eyes, a duplicate of his, shone burning with excitement. Her soft Russian accented voice called out to Dimitri. 'Dimka, don't just stand there, come and give you mama a hug.'


	12. Chapter 12

Dimitri walked quickly up to his mother and leant down to plant a loving kiss on her cheek. I think he would have given her a hug, but with Rosie in his arms, that action was made pretty much impossible. 'Hello Mama.' I appreciated that they spoke in English so I could understand, and I thought it was especially sweet that they even spoke in English to each other, so I therefore wasn't left out. There was nothing worse then standing with two people speaking a language you don't understand because you don't know what they are saying and it always makes me paranoid to think of what they are chatting about.

I hung back near the car, not sure where I should stand or what I should do. My gut instinct was telling me to hang back because Dimitri and his mother needed a moment or two alone to reunite. After all, I didn't know how long it had been since they had seen each other. Dimitri's mother patted him on the cheek and turned to me with a brilliant smile. Her eyes twinkled just like Dimitri's did whenever he was trying to withhold the overload of excitement he felt coursing through his veins. Dimitri followed his mother's gaze and beckoned for me to join them. I smiled and walked towards them.

'You must be Rose.' His mother said, her eyes showing me nothing but warmth and kindness. 'I've heard so much about you.'

I laughed. 'All good I hope.' I raised an eyebrow at Dimitri and he smirked, not a reassuring gesture. 'It's a pleasure to finally meet you Ms Belikov.' I replied formally, not quite sure how to address her, but knowing that the formal approach sounded respectful, even if it did make me sound like I was a kiss ass.

'Please Rose, call me Olena. You care practically family after all by the way Dimitri refers to you' well, that was nice to hear. Dimitri must make a pretty big deal out of me when talking about us to his family.

I smiled warmly at her and reached out to grab Dimitri's hand. He immediately started rubbing comforting circles around my knuckles. I had never done the whole meet the family thing, but I was guessing that so far it was going okay. Olena watched this small exchange between her son and I and I could see the happiness she felt radiating from her eyes. You could tell her son was the apple of her eye, and seeing him not alone, and in love brought peace to her. You could tell she worried about him being in a different country without any family. Me being here showed her that she had nothing to worry about anymore; he had me, proving that he wasn't completely alienated in his foreign home.

I heard a high pitched yawn come from Dimitri's shoulder and looked over to see Rosie slowly open her eyes. She blinked a couple of times trying to get her bearings, then rubbed her podgy hands over her eyes. She looked so cute having just awoken. I opened my arms to take her from Dimitri, but he gave me a disapproving stare and turned his body so it would be extremely difficult to take Rosie from him. 'Mama.' He said, ignoring my expression of protest. Honestly, I'm not an invalid. 'Let me introduce to you Rose's goddaughter. This is Rosie.'

Rosie snuggled into the side of his neck and smiled at Olena shyly. She wasn't the most outgoing of children, but when she got to know someone she would completely come out of her shell and I had a feeling that this is exactly what would happen while staying with the Belikov's.

'It's nice to meet you Rosie, I'm Olena.' Olena said softly, offering her hand to Rosie to shake.

Rosie looked at me for reassurance and I smiled at her encouragingly. 'Hello.' She answered, taking Olena's hand in hers and shaking gently. Then Rosie released Olena's hand and wrapped her arms around Dimitri's neck, so she could nuzzle closer, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes again. I think the fact we were out in the sun was making her sluggish. I frowned, I was hoping we could wrap this front door greeting up and put Rosie to bed inside. As if Olena could read my mind she stepped aside from the door, making way for us both. 'Come on you three, come inside.'

I smiled gratefully and lead the way inside. The interior decorations were pretty plain, giving it a homely but simple appearance. It amazed me to think that Dimitri grew up here. When he was a child he used to run around this very house, laughing and playing. I smirked at the thought.

'Dimka why don't you take Rose upstairs and freshen up. I'm sure you're all tired from the flight. I can see this little one is.' Said Olena, pointing to Rosie's sleeping figure. 'I'll be in the kitchen if you need me; I imagine you must be hungry.'

'Thank you Olena.' I said before Dimitri led the way upstairs and to Rosie's temporary room while we were staying here.

Dimitri pulled back the sheets and placed her gently on the bed. 'You sort her out while I go and fetch our bags.' He said, walking out the room, not before he planted a very soft warm kiss on my cheek.

'You know if you'd stop being such a worrier I could have saved you the journey.' I called after him. I heard him softly chuckle but he gave me no reply.

While Dimitri was downstairs, I sat on the edge of Rosie's bed and gently pulled her shoes and socks off, placing them neatly on the floor near the door. Rosie was quite a heavy sleeper when she wanted to be, so it was a relief that I could move her around a bit and know she wouldn't wake up. I carefully lifted her head so I could slide the hair band I had used to tie her hair up with earlier, out of her hair. The I moved onto her jacket and unbuttoned it and pulled it off of her.

Dimitri re-entered the room just as I was tucking her in and giving her a kiss on her forehead. As I turned to him he laid Rosie's small suitcase on the floor. I went to it, to start unpacking straight away, but he shook his head, taking my hand and leading me down the hall to a door at the end of the building. 'This is our room.' He said, opening the door and ushering me inside. If you had put me in this house alone and asked me to pick the room I thought belonged to Dimitri, this room is definitely the room I would have chosen. It had light blue walls so that they created a peaceful illusion but not plain. The floor was carpeted in a darker blue, combining with the walls nicely. There were no pictures or anything giving the walls character, but by images not being displayed, I thought it showed Dimitri's personality perfectly. Serenity. There was a double bed set in the middle of the north facing wall and on either side was a mahogany bedside table occupying a lamp. There was a matching wardrobe, desk, chest of draws and bookcase to go with the bedside tables. In a way the room looked elegant, but it was also just so Dimitri. I wondered over to the bookcase and there in rows, were the western novels he loved so much. There must have been over one hundred kept there, and by the look of the binding he had read all of them, if not more than once.

'You could open a western library with the amount of books you have here.' I joked turning to him.

He was stood in the middle of the room, a look of concentration pasted all over his features. I cocked my head and looked at him questioningly, but he just shook his head and carried our luggage over to where the wardrobe was. I sighed and grabbed my case. He immediately took it from my hands.

'Tell me where you want it and I'll put it there.' He said, putting on the voice he used to use when he was my mentor. The one where he sounded like he was talking to a naughty child. How patronizing did he want to get?

I made an annoyed sound in the back of my throat and pointed to the chest of draws. 'Over there.' He placed it on top of the piece of furniture and turned back to face me with a grin on his face. 'You know, you're going to have unwrap the bubble wrap you seem to have bound me up in eventually and when you do, you're going to pay.'

I swivelled so I wasn't facing him and opened the zip on my case, throwing the contents in the draw, a little less tidily then I would have liked. I had just filled the first draw when I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me to their chest. I could feel Dimitri's breath on my neck, it tickled like mad, but not in a way that made me want to squirm away. 'And how do you plan on making me pay Roza?' He asked seductively, kissing the side of my neck teasingly.

'I'm not sure yet. I'll have to think about it.' An idea was forming in my head, but I didn't want him to catch on just yet. I was really going to mess with him.

Dimitri chuckled huskily in my ear and his hands slid to the bottom of my shirt, toying with it, his fingertips caressing the bare skin of my stomach. It took all my will power not to melt into his arms. I turned in the middle of his arms that encircled me so I could face him and witness the way I made his deep brown eyes hooded with lust. I leant up on my tip toes and kissed along his jaw. 'I suppose you have a few ideas of how I could punish you?' I asked.

'A few.' He agreed.

I knew exactly where this was going, I would have to be pretty stupid not to guess what he wanted. I smirked to myself, and ran my fingers up his tensed muscled chest. His muscles bunched together under the thin material of his shirt where my touch caressed him. I loved knowing how much he wanted me. How much he needed me. How much I got to him.

'Care to enlighten me Comrade?'

Before I could even blink, he had lifted me up in his arms and thrown me on the bed. He was hovering over me, my legs wrapped securely around his waist. Even though he was above me, he made sure he held all of his weight off of me. I locked my arms around his neck and brought his face down to mine, where he gently placed his lips to mine, as soft as butterfly wings. That wasn't enough though, so I tilted my head further back and deepened the kiss. Passion filled the both of us and longing nagged away in the pit of my stomach. I pulled back to breath. I didn't want to get too carried away. His hands made their way back down to the bottom and my shirt and he began to pull it up. My hands flew over his to still them. His eyes were filled with lust and need, but I ignored them and smiled my smug smirk at him.

'Uh-uh Dimitri. If I'm too fragile to lift a few things, then I'm definitely too fragile to be doing this just yet. And anyway your mother is downstairs making us some food, we can't keep her waiting.' I laughed and pushed him off me.

As I stood up he shuffled so he was sitting at the edge of the bed, a scowl etched in his perfect features. 'That was cruel Roza.'

I bit my lip and bent down so I could look him in the eye. He looked so pissed off it was funny, but I could also see that he was finding it amusing that I had finally managed to get one up on him. 'What can I say Comrade? Paybacks a bitch.' Then I kissed him on the lips and left the room. Satisfied that next time I tried to do something for myself, he would think twice before stopping me.

'Mm, something smells nice.' I told Olena as I walked into the kitchen. She had her back to me, stirring something at the stove, her dark hair pulled back into a bun on top of her head. 'What are you cooking?'

She turned to me and smiled. 'Spaghetti. Is that alright? Do you like spaghetti?'

I laughed and sat down at the dining room table which was set in the centre of the kitchen, in the middle of all the counters. 'Yeah, I like it. I pretty much like anything, seriously, if its food, I eat it.'

'She's right mama, she's a dhampir trash can.' Dimitri declared, entering the kitchen and taking a seat next to me. 'It surprises me how she manages to stay so thin to be honest, she doesn't even chew, she just inhales her food.'

I hit his shoulder and scowled at him and in a hushed tone so his mother couldn't hear I whispered to him. 'Do you ever plan on getting laid again? Because if you keep insulting me like that I will ensure that it never happens.'

He took my threat seriously and the smirk he had held on his face moments ago vanished and a serious one took its place. Wow, he must want it really bad to wipe that smug smile off his face so quickly. Ha ha, least I knew I was the one who wore the trousers in this relationship.

Dimitri looked towards Olena, watching her cook his dinner. It must have been weird for him to be sat in the same place he did when he was younger and have his mother cook for him. I bet he never thought he would be back here properly again, or long enough to be able to sit and have a meal with his family. 'Where are the others mama?'

Olena flipped a switch on the cooker and drained the spaghetti. 'Karolina and Sonya are at work and Viktoria is still at the academy, they are all excited to see you, but especially Viktoria Rose, she hasn't shut up since I told her you were going to be visiting with Dimitri. Did Dimitri tell you she teaches combat at the academy?' Olena asked me.

'No.' I replied, enjoying hearing all about Dimitri's family.

'Well, I think it is safe to say she has followed in her older brothers footsteps. She isn't as skilled a fighter as my Dimka here, but she knows strategy and she knows how to teach, so the academy offered her a job when she graduated.' The pride Olena felt at talking of her daughters achievements was blatant in the way it oozed out of her every word.

'Why is she especially excited to meet me?' I asked, looking worriedly at Dimitri.

'Are you kidding Roza? When I spoke to her the other day after making our visiting arrangements, she kept saying how she couldn't believe she was going to meet the legendary Rose Hathaway. You have quite the reputation among novices and it seems the teachers too.'

'Well, Karolina and Sonya are just shocked that you have met someone that means more to you that your guardian duties.' Olena chirped in.

'Well, as I said, only _The _Guardian Rose Hathaway would be able to capture my brother's heart, isn't that right Dimka?' A soft melodic voice sounded from behind me.

I swivelled in my chair and Dimitri shot up from his, scooping the young girl up in his arms and spinning her around in a bear hug. I was assuming that this girl was in fact Viktoria. She was the spitting image of Dimitri, just a feminine version, but in her brown hair, golden streaks flecked it, giving her a sun kissed look.

Dimitri put his sister down and pulled me up from my chair, holding my hand in his while I stood before his younger sister. 'Viktoria I would like you to meet Rose and Rose' he looked down at me. 'This is my sister Viktoria.'

'It's nice to meet you Viktoria.' I said extending a hand.

Viktoria beamed at me and knocked my hand away. I wondered what I had done wrong for a second, before she launched herself at me, squeezing me tightly. Her hold on me was a little too strong and I winced as she pressed on my stitches. Dimitri went to say something but I shot him a warning glare that made him shut up pretty quickly.

'I can't believe you are with my brother. When I was a novice, your stories used to be the main source of conversation, especially about your first kills and the strigoi attack on the school. You are amazing.' She said pulling back to look at me.

'Well what can I say?' I asked, knowing that me and Viktoria were going to get on just fine together. She was a year or two younger than me, but there was something about her easy going attitude that made me want to get to know her and made me think we could grow to be good friends. 'I had an amazing teacher.'

I winked at Dimitri and he smiled at me. 'Well I can't deny that.' He joked.

Karolina, Sonya and Paul joined us shortly after that, and Rosie woke up to join us for dinner. It was nice having a proper family meal and for once in my life, I felt a proper sense of family. Don't get me wrong, Lissa and Rosie were my family, but they weren't blood related to me, so they would always be closer to each other, whereas sitting with Dimitri's family I was treated like I was a member of them. I could have been a Belikov for the way they treated me and that was a nice feeling.

The only member of Dimitri's family I didn't meet this evening was his grandmother, but by the way he described her, I wasn't too upset about it. To say I was nervous about meeting her was an understatement. I didn't know where she was, but the family didn't seem worried, so she couldn't have been far.

The whole family after dinner wondered into the living room where we sat and watched TV. I appreciated the fact that they put on English subtitles because if they hadn't, I would have been completely lost. The atmosphere was very homely and I was made to feel so welcome, it made me feel all warm and gushy inside. I know, me feel those things, hard to believe right? Dimitri and I were sat bundled together on the single arm chair with Rosie spread out on the floor, wrapped like a burrito in a blanket at our feet. She had settled in nicely and like I had predicted, she had come out of herself and was buddy buddy with everyone in the household. So while watching some TV show, I fell asleep, covered in a blanket, pressed up to Dimitri with my head on his chest. And I can actually swear that for the first time in longer than I can remember, I fell into a deep content, worriless sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

I woke to the sound of someone pounding on the bedroom door. I opened my eyes into slits and gazed around the room. It was still pretty dark outside, so I knew that it was still fairly early, and I was positive that it was too early to get up. I watched as Dimitri slid out of bed and walked over to the desk where he had folded his clothes the night before. Dimitri wore only his boxers and although I was still half asleep and wanted nothing more than to be allowed to drift off again, I couldn't help but take a moment to let my eyes wonder over his perfect sculpted body as he slowly covered his bare torso with a shirt. Warmth settled in the pit of my stomach as I realised. He was all mine.

The door shook in protest as it was banged on again, and I rolled over so I was facing away from it and groaned, sticking my head under the pillow to try and protect my ears from the intrusive noise. I heard Dimitri's low chuckle as he opened the door. Whoever was there was being quiet, now that they had stopped slamming their fists against the wood of the door, for which I was extremely grateful for and I felt myself slowly drifting back off to sleep.

'Rose.' Dimitri called softly.

I ignored him and snuggle further into the bed, throwing the duvet over the pillow that covered my head so that it would be even harder to hear him.

'Rose.' He called again.

I sighed, but I didn't move. Dimitri of all people should know how dangerous it is to try and wake me up before noon. 'I'm asleep.' I murmured causing another chuckle to escape his lips.

'Rose, my grandmother is here to meet you.' Dimitri stated, knowing this would most certainly get me out of bed. Out of the whole family I felt his grandmother was the one I needed to win over the most. Not because he loved her more than the others, because he didn't, but I felt the need to make her like me more because she seemed to have the highest authority in the family. She seemed to be the one everyone took notice of and sought out advice from.

I shot up from under the covers as soon a Dimitri mentioned his grandmother. I was pretty sure this first impression of me that she was receiving wasn't exactly going to start our relationship off with greatness, but there wasn't much I could do about it now. I rubbed my eyes roughly, trying to remove all sleep and smudged mascara that I neglected to take off last night then I went to smooth down my hair. That was a lost cause though. I could feel it piled on top of my head, stuck up like I had stuck my finger in an electric socket.

I smiled at Dimitri's grandmother and removed myself from bed. Her appearance startled me. She was scarier than Dimitri had described and the image I had had in my head after he had told me about her was pretty damn terrifying, but it was nothing compared to her actual appearance. She was a slight woman, and extremely old. Her skin was covered in leathery wrinkles indicating her age, but her eyes were as young and as vibrant as Dimitri's. She had wispy grey hair just about covering the top of her head and she was so skinny I felt for sure if I so much as tapped her, she would be crushed.

'Rose, this is my grandmother, Yeva.' He said proudly, with as much warmth and love in his tone as he had had when he introduced me to the others in his family.

'It's a pleasure to meet you; Dimitri has told me lots about you.' I held my hand out to her but she just looked at it in disgust then moved her gaze to Dimitri where she barked something at him in Russian, before storming off down the hall.

I turned to Dimitri who looked embarrassed at this little display Yeva had created. 'I like her, she seems friendly.' I smiled, sarcasm surrounding my words.

Dimitri laughed uneasily and took me in his arms. 'You'll get used to her.'

I gave him an unsure look. I don't think I could ever get used to Yeva who seemed to be as much of the witch Dimitri had described her as. Yeva had seemed to take an instant disliking to me, even though the rest of the family seemed to really approve me. Something told me, when in the presence of Yeva; this vacation was going to drag.

'What did your grandmother say to you?' I asked, my face pressed into his chest as he gently rubbed up and down my back.

Dimitri stayed silent which made me worry. I knew I wasn't going to like what he told me next. 'She says we have twenty minutes.'

'Till...' I prompted, not having a clue where this conversation was going.

'Till we have to head out to see Oksana and Mark.'

'But it's only...' I turned to look at the clock on the bedside table next to his side of the bed. 'Five thirty!'

Dimitri sighed and pulled away from me to look in my eyes. 'One thing you will learn very quickly Roza, in this house, what grandmother says goes.'

I nodded and smirked at him. 'Yeah, I kind of gathered.'

'She has some things she wants to take over to Oksana's place, and she wants us to carry them over there, and while we are at it, we might as well speak to Oksana about the Princess.'

'What about Rosie though? I can't wake her up yet, she needs her sleep.' I said, trying to find a way to get out of going out so early when we didn't need to. 'Maybe I should stay here.'

'Nice try, but if I've got to go, you have too.' He smirked, heading towards the wardrobe to pick out some clothes. 'My mother will be more than happy to keep an eye on her until we return.'

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I had no idea how to play this so that he would cave and allow me to stay and return back to bed. 'But Dimitri, I'm still not recovered from the fight with Christian; I need as much rest as possible.' I protested, playing on the one thing I knew he would be willing to listen to. My health.

'Oh no. I learnt my lesson yesterday with treating you like an invalid. I'm not making the same mistake. You wanted to be treated as normal so that is what I'm doing. Now get your butt in the shower and get ready, you don't want to see how mad my grandmother gets when she is kept waiting.'

I shot him a dirty look and grabbed a towel from the desk, which I was guessing his mom had laid out for us. 'Fine, whatever, but don't expect me to be all sweetness and light today. You of all people should know that I'm not the most agreeable person when I am sleep deprived.'

As I opened the door and headed round the corner I heard him mumble to himself. 'You're never the most agreeable person, so today should be no different.'

I was tempted to go back into the room and give him hell for that comment, but I decided I could afford to let that snide remark slide, just this once.

Once I had showered and dressed I went down stairs to get some breakfast. No one apart from Dimitri, Yeva and I were up. Seemed like at least some of us had sense to stay in bed at least until daylight hours. As I entered the kitchen I got a stern look from Yeva, but Dimitri smiled at me uneasily. Yeva had just handed Dimitri a backpack and they were both stood at the door, talking rapidly in Russian. Needless to say, I didn't understand a single word of their conversation. I wondered over to the fridge to see if there was anything in there I could grab to eat before we left, but as soon as I got something out Yeva set a death glare on me that gave me own scary glare a run for its money.

'What so I cant eat now?' I asked, throwing the food back in the fridge and slamming the door.

'Rose, of course you can eat. It will take a while for us to walk to Mark and Oksana's house.' Dimitri said, earning himself one of Yeva's quality evil looks.

She barked something at him and he flinched. To see a woman half his size make him squirm was quite amusing. For a moment I could envision him as a child, being chastised by his grandmother for doing something he shouldn't. And at the moment, the thing he shouldn't be doing, was feeding his very hungry girlfriend.

'What did she say?' I asked sceptically, not really sure if I wanted to hear her already low opinion of me voiced.

Yeva said something else to Dimitri, her tone harsh, and then she stared at me. It was like she could burn a hole through my soul with her lack of hospitality. Dimitri sighed and looked apologetically at me. 'First of all, she said she has a name so don't refer to her as 'she' and secondly, you don't have time to eat because you stayed in bed till late.' He hesitated and I knew there was something else that she had said, something that he didn't particularly want to tell me.

'Come on Dimitri, spit the rest out.' I ordered, hands on hips, trying to create the illusion that I wasn't going to be affected, regardless to what she said.

'Nope.' He looked down at Yeva. 'If she wants you to know, she can tell you herself.'

What? 'Wait... rewind a second. She speaks English?'

Dimitri looked at me as if I was stupid. 'Of course, how else do you think she knows what you're saying; I'm not exactly telling her am I?'

'I don't know!' I screeched. 'You only speak to her in Russian. I don't speak Russian!'

He sent me a guilty smile and shrugged his shoulders. 'Yeah, sorry. That was a stupid comment on my part.' He admitted.

'Yeah, you don't say.'

Yeva cleared her throat and hit Dimitri on the arm, motioning towards the door with her hand, mumbling to both of us, but of course, I didn't have a clue what she was saying, because she was choosing to talk in her mother tongue.

As we made our way outside, there was some stuff that she wanted to take with her, set out neatly on the front lawn. There were two boxes and the backpack Dimitri already had strapped onto his back. Yeva stared at me and pointed at the boxes. I was guessing that these are what I would be taking. I bent down to pick them up but Dimitri pulled me back and stepped in front of me. 'Comrade, remember our conversation yesterday, I am perfectly capable of lifting things. You said I wasn't still injured enough to sleep in this mourning, so I can carry a few boxes.'

Dimitri raised an eyebrow and refused to move out of the way. 'Rose, there is some pretty heavy stuff in there, one would be bad enough, I don't want you carrying them both.'

'Dimitri, stop worrying about me. I am fine, I'm sure I can handle taking whatever is in them.'

He didn't budge. 'Why don't you let me carry them?'

'Not going to happen, I'm going to prove to you that you are being an overprotective fool and that I am more than able to carry a few boxes, now get out my way.' I ordered elbowing him in the ribs, and of course my attempts to move him didn't even faze him. It would have been more effective trying to move a mountain.

'How about a deal? I'll stop bugging you if you will let me carry one box, and I will let you carry the other?' He offered. I knew he was only doing all this overprotective, wrap-me-up-in-cotton-wool crap because he cared, but to be honest he was seriously starting to piss me off, if he was going to be like this every time I fought strigoi, I was going to go mad.

I looked at him sceptically, knowing that even though he said he would drop the matter if I allowed him to take one of the boxes; he was going to find it extremely hard to keep his mouth shut. 'Humour me.' He said when he saw I was still unsure as to whether I should cave to his wishes.

'Fine.' I huffed, marching forward and snatching up one of the boxes. As soon as I had a hold on it, I wobbled backwards trying to balance the weight of it so it wouldn't overbalance me. Jesus, what the hell was in this thing? It was like she had packed it will cement blocks.

I coughed to try and hide my gasp as I struggled with the weight. The last thing I wanted was to see the gloating look Dimitri seemed to always get, whenever he had proved me wrong. 'What the hell is in this?' I asked, once I had composed myself.

'Gardening appliances. My grandmother borrowed them from Mark a while ago and wants to return them.'

'And she waited for us to arrive before she could do that?' I looked over at Yeva who was stood watching me with a less than pleased look pasted onto her face. She clucked her tongue, and shook he head disapprovingly, then marched off out the yard and into the street. 'I guess now we have to follow her.'

Dimitri and I set off after her, me wobbling a bit under the weight the box posed. I'm not exactly weak, and for a woman guardian I am probably one of the strongest you will find, but whatever she had in this box would put even a strigoi under strain. I looked over at Dimitri who seemed to be carrying his packages with no problem. Trust him to be the only one to find this task easy.

'Hey Comrade, just out of curiosity, why is it that you are not struggling with your box?' It didn't seem fair that I was puffing away, with my arms searing under the strain of holding up the weight, and he was perfectly fine, with more to carry than me.

'You picked the heavier box.' He stated with a smirk on his face.

'And you didn't think to stop me and give me the lighter of the two?' I asked, usually he was the first to give me the easiest task presented, but obviously this time, that wasn't the case.

'Nope, we made a deal. I said I wouldn't bug you if you let me carry one box. You let me, so I don't comment.'

I glared at him and picked up my pace a bit. Yeva was way out in front of us, for an elderly person she sure could walk with a decent speed. I was shocked at how fast her small legs could carry her. By appearance she looked like she would be barely able to get out of bed, but that couldn't be farther from the case. As much as I hated to admit it, Yeva was an admirable woman, even at her age she was still tough and looked after herself, and I would never voice this opinion to anyone, but if I at her age was like she was now, I would be a very pleased lady. Looking at Yeva, I could see that once, before she had Olena, she must have been an amazing guardian, probably a female version of Dimitri. I could now see where Dimitri got his dedication and determination from. Just like her, he was a true fighter.

None of us spoke for the rest of the walk. I don't think I was capable to be honest. I was so tired it felt like I was back at the academy, when Dimitri first started making me run those gazillion laps daily. I don't know how long we walked for, it seemed like hours to me, but I'm sure it wasn't. Mark and Oksana's house was pretty far away from the Belikov's but it might just have seemed like that to me because I couldn't wait to arrive. As we walked I was really tempted to constantly yell out childishly 'how much farther?' and 'are we nearly there yet?' but although I knew it would be worth it, to see the pissed off expression that was sure to appear on Yeva's face, I couldn't waste the oxygen that seemed to be steaming out of my body at every opportunity.

'There.' Dimitri pointed at a nearing house; it was similar to his mom's house, but a smaller version. The front yard was full of flowers and it was encased by a typical white picket fence that matched the painting on the outside of the building. In the middle of the front garden, on his hands and knees was a man pulling up weeds, which I was assuming was Mark. He was a tall, stockily built dhampir. His greying hair indicated that he was middle aged, possible late thirties, early forties. But either way, he looked pretty good for his age.

When he saw us he smiled warmly and made his way over to us. He seemed like a nice enough person, why he was friends with Yeva was beyond me, but there must be some good reason why the two of the associate. He spotted me struggling with what I was lugging around and took it off me.

'Here, let me take that for you. You must be Rose, I'm Mark.' Holding out a hand awkwardly for me to shake, trying not to drop the box on his left arm. He turned his head to Dimitri. 'Dimitri, it's nice to see you again, it's been too long.' Then finally he turned his attention to Yeva. 'Yeva, thank you for bringing this back, I told you though, I could have come and got it instead of bothering Rose and Dimitri.'

I choked on my intake of breath and glared in front of me, wanting to make some rude remark about being woken up so early and carting shit around for Yeva, when Mark had told her – not to our knowledge – that he was more than willing to pick it up, but I didn't trust myself to not throw any insults in, so I thought it was better to keep my mouth shut.

We made it to the front of the house and Mark propped the box against the wall outside, next to the front door. Dimitri did the same with the objects he was holding. Mark opened the front door and held it ajar, beckoning for us to enter. 'Please come in, Oksana has just made some freshly squeezed orange juice and I'm sure there is enough for everyone.'

We followed him inside. The house was one floor. Set out like a little cottage you would read about in fairy tales. There were wooden floors throughout the establishment and pale yellow walls. It was like their own personal inside sunshine. The colour really made the place light up. There was typical household furniture in pale colours, so not to overpower the yellow walls. There was nothing fancy or especially noticeable about their belongings; it was just simple and effective. It was basic but pleasant. It is the sort of house I would love to live in if I ever finally gave up being a guardian. 'Please take a seat while I go get Oksana.' Mark said as he scuttled off in search of his wife.

'He seems nice.' I commented, leaning into Dimitri who was sat on the sofa next to me now.

'He is a very good guardian, a good person too. But if you like Mark, you are going to love Oksana; she's a lovely woman, a very giving nature.' Dimitri smiled.

'Do I feel my ears burning Dimka?' A woman who must have been Oksana said as she entered her living room. She walked over to the couch and Dimitri rose, giving her a small friendly hug. 'You haven't changed one bit.'

He chuckled. 'I could say the same about you Oksana.'

Then Oksana turned to me, grabbing my hand and pulling me up into a hug, like she had known me for years instead of a matter of seconds. 'Rose.' She said. 'How are you feeling honey, you know with Lissa and everything?'

I was taken aback by her upfront questioning. It was like she knew both Lissa and I and was a concerned friend. Her concerned attitude really touched me and I could see that without a doubt this woman would be more than willing to help me, because she understood what it was like for me.

Oksana must have been in her thirties, I wouldn't say she was any older than thirty five, you could see Mark had a few years on her, I was guessing they had a similar age gap to the one Dimitri and I had, and just like us, they didn't care. Back at the academy I was worried about what people would think of Dimitri because of the age problem, but Mark and Oksana must have had it much worse, because not only had they got their age gap, but they were also a married moroi and dhampir couple, and that was extremely frowned upon and practically unheard of in the moroi and dhampir society.

As she hugged me her strawberry blonde hair tickled my cheek. 'I'm fine, well as fine as I can be.'

She nodded and pulled back. She was a very beautiful woman, high well-defined cheekbones and bright sparkling eyes filled with tenderness and love. Her kind attitude was almost too intoxicating to handle, but it was nice to meet someone who I thought would generally be able to help me.

She sat me back down after greeting Yeva and then sat on a stool opposite me. 'Now Rose, I need to know about Lissa before I can be sure if I can help.' My eyes widened, I hadn't told her that I needed her help yet and I'm pretty sure Dimitri hadn't either, so how did she know? As if she saw my thoughts, she answered for me. 'Rose, I know that is why you're here because why else would you be in Russia when the person you are bonded to is in a critical condition in the states?'

I suppose she had to be given points for her sense. 'She got attacked and fell into a coma because of extensive head injuries. It seems her injuries weren't as extensive however as we thought, because unconsciously her spirit was trying to heal her, but because she doesn't have the conscious energy to boost it, she can't wake up. She needs to heal to get better and she needs to be awake to fully heal, but she is wasting her energy by using spirit, so she can't wake up. It is like she is constantly draining herself, mentally and physically.'

Oksana nodded and thought for a second. 'And when you try and slip into her head, what do you find.'

My back went stiff and I shuddered at the thought of entering Lissa's head while she was in this state. Dimitri sensed my distress so took my hand and squeezed. I took a deep breath and looked Oksana in the eyes. 'Nothing.' I whispered. 'When I try and slip into her head, I find nothing.'


	14. Chapter 14

'Nothing?' Oksana gulped. A look of sympathy and concern flashing across her features so quickly that I wasn't sure I had actually witnessed the emotions. But I knew by the look I was receiving now, that what I told her was not a good sign. I knew coming to see her and her being able and willing to help was a long shot, but when you love someone like I love Lissa, I couldn't let any chances, no matter how small a percentage they had of working out, slip by.

'Nothing.' I confirmed. I wanted to ask so many questions. Just because it showed she wasn't having any brain activity that I could visibly access, does that mean that trying to heal her is a lost cause? Does it mean it is impossible? Will it cause her more damage than good? Was there no chance of her pulling through this? But I held all my questioning in; I needed to hear what Oksana was going to say.

Mark had wondered into the room as I was explaining to Oksana what was going on and he was now stood behind her with his hand protectively on her shoulder. He was looking at me, like he was trying to suss me out. He looked like a kid who was stuck on their math homework. He was staring so intently it was actually starting to make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I fidgeted in my seat and dropped my gaze to the floor. I felt like a deer stuck in headlights. Dimitri cleared his throat, sensing that I was feeling a bit uneasy and Mark looked at him, then he looked back at me.

'How is your mental state?' He asked matter of factly.

'Her mental state?' Dimitri asked, just as taken aback at the direction the inquiry had gone in as I was. Did Mark think I was some kind of nutcase or something, in need of locking up in a mental institution? Why would Mark need to know of my state of mind and more importantly why would he question it? Then it hit me.

'You mean the darkness?' I asked before Mark could even attempt to answer Dimitri. Of course, I hadn't thought of the effects Lissa's state might have on me. I hadn't even considered the complications this could inflict on me.

Mark nodded and I bit my lip, trying to think if I had been truly affected since Lissa's attack. Had I had an emotional overload? I couldn't think of a single moment when I was overcome by anger, depression or just plain craziness. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? In my case, it was great, but in Lissa's? I'm not so sure? One thing I was positive about, I would be willing to suffer the brunt of spirits darkness, just to see her wake up.

'I can't think of a time where it has arisen, can you Dimitri, you'd probably sense the difference more than I would?' Even though I knew when I had taken away some sort of darkness from Lissa, it was usually more obvious to outsiders. They seemed to catch the difference in me before I realised it myself.

Dimitri thought for a minute then shook his head. 'No, I'm pretty sure you've had no problems at all.'

I looked back at Mark and Oksana who had more of a hopeful expression on their faces, mirroring the others relief. This was a good sign right?

'Is that good?' I asked. 'Me not getting spirits effects?'

Mark cleared his throat and Oksana scooted over on the stool she was perched on to give him some room to sit beside her. 'Well, not that we have ever been in this position or spoken to someone who has, but I would say it is a good sign.' He stopped and looked at me, like something had just occurred to him. 'Do you see ghosts sometimes?' I nodded and he continued. 'Then you know all about the line between he living and the dead. If Lissa were closer to the line of the dead, then her darkness would be increasing and causing you much more trouble. I think you would be suffering with depression if Lissa was as good as dead, but you seem upbeat, or well, as upbeat as you can possibly be in this situation.' He looked as Oksana, a sad look in his eyes, like he was trying to imagine what I was going through. 'Does that make sense to you?'

I mulled it over, looking at Dimitri who had a worried expression on his face; like he thought I would suddenly go crazy, just because spirits effects were mentioned. 'Yes. But do you think that this bit of good results is enough to bring Lissa back?'

Oksana slapped her knees and stood up. 'Well we won't know until we try will we?' It was the same sort of thing Dimitri said to me when I asked him if he thought it would work.

I shot up so I was looking at her pretty much on eye level, if you ignored the few inches taller than me she stood at. 'You mean you will try and save Lissa?'

'Yes, that is exactly what I mean.'

I turned to Dimitri who had a smile on his face; the reflexion of mine. 'Did you hear that? She said yes. She just said yes!' I shrieked, like a little girl on Christmas morning. But who was I kidding; this was way better than Christmas morning. I jumped forward and hugged her, my arms constricting around her like a vice. 'I'm so happy I could kiss you.'

She chuckled and managed to pry herself away from me. She put her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes sternly. 'Rose, now I don't want you getting your hopes up, this may not work.'

But it will, I can feel it. 'I know, but I can be optimistic cant I?'

'When are you ever optimistic? Pessimist should be your middle name.' Dimitri chuckled, looping an arm around my waist.

I turned to him and planted a surprise kiss on his shocked lips. 'You know just because I'm so damn happy, I'm going to ignore that comment.'

I felt his soft laughter rock through his body, shaking my smaller frame as it did so. I loved the power the simple of acts from him could have over me. His presence could make my body do things that I never commanded it to do and it shocked me that one person could take away my control and say over my actions. But knowing Dimitri for as long as I had, and knowing the unintentional effect he could have on me, I wasn't shocked that I longed to drag him back to his mothers house, shove him into our room, lock the door and have my wicked way with him, we hadn't been intimate in that sense since I accepted him back, I wasn't sure I was ready for it, but due to everything he had done for me and Rosie in the last week, I realised I was more than ready. My readiness was almost boarder lining on desperation. Desperation for him. I think he sensed this, because I felt his chest muscles tense all of a sudden.

We spent all day with Mark and Oksana. We discussed travelling, telling them that we would be leaving in four days. We told them we had sorted out their accommodation; they would be staying in the apartment to rent next to mine. We discussed Lissa and talked about Adrian as well, how he had had his part in figuring out the problem with Liss. Oksana was extremely interested hearing about his dream walking.

It was dark outside now. Something we should have been watching for. It was okay for me and Dimitri, we could handle ourselves, but Yeva, it wasn't safe for her to be out at this time. Not when she couldn't defend herself. We had gotten so carried away with our plans we hadn't even thought about our responsibilities to making sure Yeva got home. Okay, so she was a pain in the ass and she wasn't a moroi or anything, but she was still Dimitri's grandmother, a once guardian, and she deserved to be considered when taking risks – unneeded risks – since she was no longer fast enough or strong enough to have her own back.

We walked over to the door but Oksana called us just before we left. 'Before you go Rose, I would like you to bring me some stuff before we leave. I can infuse spirit into silver, give it a healing quality and I think that is needed with you. Especially when it comes to the problems you suffer because of being shadow-kissed. I made some for Mark and he is very rarely affected by the ghosts now, it helps him hold up a mental block. And it wouldn't hurt Dimitri and Rosie to have some healing jewellery. I know it isn't my place to tell you what to do and how to carry yourself, but I just think you all might benefit from it.'

I took her hand and squeezed. 'Thank you Oksana. That would be a great idea. Give me a reason to make Dimitri buy me some new jewellery as well.' I raised my eyebrows and winked at her and she laughed. 'We'll go shopping tomorrow and bring it to you the day after.'

Yeva and I made our way outside in silence, followed by Dimitri. It had been a nice day and it had been great to meet some genuinely friendly people. Oksana was the sort of person I could see myself spending a lot of time with, well that was if she didn't live in Russia.

Dimitri came to a stop and turned to look at me. He tapped his pockets and shook his head. 'My cell phone must have fallen out my pocket, wait here; I'll be back in a minute.' He said before darting back down the street towards Mark and Oksana's house.

'Men.' I muttered, shaking my head as I kicked a pebble across the road.

Yeva just stood in silence, fixing me with that icy stare of hers, the one that made all my blood and internal organs freeze. I wanted to say something to her. Apologize if I had to about making her hate me so much, but I knew if I did that I would be grovelling and I would loose my pride. No, if she didn't like me, she could just deal. I was going to be in her life a hell of a lot more now and there was nothing to be done about it by her.

It seemed like hours had ticked by, standing on that curb with the cold air nipping at me skin like a Parana, and having an old lady giving you the silent treatment. That was when it hit me. I felt a wave of nausea complete a Mexican wave through my body. I immediately looked behind Yeva, my hand flying to the stake I had strapped to my leg. There was a dark figure slowly approaching, he hadn't noticed that I had seen him yet.

I looked at Yeva who was still giving me the petulant look. 'Yeva duck.' I said. But she just glared at me. I knew perfectly well that she knew what I had told her but she was choosing to ignore me. Did she really think I would mess with her on a topic this serious? Surely she could see my stance and see that I was ready for battle.

The strigoi had seen that he had been spotted and with his unnatural speed shot towards Yeva. Of course he would go for her first. He could snap her neck in a second, then move on to me, saving her lifeless body for a later snack.

'Yeva duck! I screamed, just as he went to grab her neck. This time she listened to what I said and dropped to the floor, rolling to the left so I would have better access to the monster without her getting in the way.

I lunged at the strigoi, but he was ready for me so pushed me to the side of him, shoving me up against one of the trees he had emerged behind. I grunted at the impact but didn't let any weakness show. As I struggled he hit my in the face, his fist connecting with my nose. I could feel the blood seeping out of it, but knew it wasn't broken, it was just slightly damaged.

I knew this position wasn't a good one to be in. He had the advantage here, not me, and that was never good. Where was Dimitri when you needed him? Honestly, that man disappeared at the most inconvenient moments. I lifted my stake with the arm that wasn't being pressed against the calloused bark of the tree trunk and slashed the point across the strigoi's face. He shrieked a bloodcurdling scream, letting go of me and clawing at his face in agony. If he thought that was bad, he should wait until I really go for him.

I shot myself at him, usually my weight wouldn't be enough to knock a strigoi over, but with him distracted he fell to the ground, me straddling. I wanted to kill him there and then, but I knew he wasn't just on a random attack, and I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach telling me he had been sent by Christian.

'Who sent you?' I yelled, positioning my steak over his heart.

'You know who sent me, so there is no point prolonging the inevitable.' He said looking at the steak, his red ringed eyes fuelled with rage burning so intensely it scared the life out of me, not that I would show it.

'Why? Why did he send you?' He refused to answer me so I took the tip of the stake and dragged it along the exposed skin of his arm.

'He has a message.' The strigoi finally said after screaming again, having had enough of being tortured. 'He said he knows where you are, and you can't run from him.'

My blood ran cold and without a second though I shoved the stake through his heart, his body going limp underneath me.

It seemed that no matter what I would do to keep Rosie safe, Christian was always going to have one up on us, one step ahead. A violent tremor shot through my body shaking my whole frame. I climbed off the body and made my way over to Yeva, who was sat on the edge of the curb her knees bent, her hands in her lap. Hadn't she even thought about going to get help for me? Did she really hate me enough to watch me die?

I crouched down to look at her, making sure I looked her in the eyes and kept clear of any accidental skin contact due to our close proximity. 'Yeva, are you okay?'

'You are good for him.' Yeva answered, ignoring my question.

I thought I had misheard her. She had just said I was good for him. Him who? Him Dimitri? 'I am good for Dimitri?' I asked, taken aback.

'Yes, he needs someone like you, strong and fierce, someone who can keep him from going overboard with his duties. But he also needs someone who would love him and look after him. You are that person.' She stated, pushing herself up so she was stood looking at me. 'You proved that to me just then. Watching you fight was like watching Dimitri fight. The way you have absorbed everything that he has taught you shows me that you respect him. By making sure I was out of harms way after the way I have treated you, shows me that you would go far to ensure he was happy and that makes you good enough for him in my eyes.'

'Thank you?' I asked uncertainly. It wasn't meant to come out as a question, but I was still so unsure that the woman who had been nothing but rude to me all day was actually giving me the okay to be with her grandson. I couldn't believe that I had just heard the mouthful that had just come out of Yeva's mouth and, it was all in English as well. Looks like I finally did something right in her opinion.

'Don't thank me child, just look after him for me. He needs someone to make him slow down and just relax; sometimes he takes his duties too far.' And didn't I know that? If he didn't have his responsibilities and principals, I don't know what he would do. He would be a lost soul in the sea of madness.

I didn't know what else to say to Yeva so she scuttled off to find Dimitri, finally. I wondered over to the body and ripped my stake from its skin. I had managed to get it securely embedded in its chest so when I pulled the body arched before slamming back down to the ground as the stake was freed.

How had Christian found out that I was here with his daughter? Dimitri and I left with such short notice hardly anyone knew. Ms Karp and Christian were obviously monitoring us a lot closer than we thought, and that definitely wasn't good. It seems whatever we do, they will know about, whether we want them to or now.

I walked over to the tree I had been pushed up against and leant my back against it, allowing my legs to give way so I slid all the way to the floor, the rough calloused bark of the trunk scratching my skin as I slipped down it. I hadn't realised how tricky this all could be. Christian was most certainly not going to leave us alone until he had what he wanted. And there was no way I was going to let him achieve his goal, so there was only one thing left. I needed to find him and kill him, before he found me. I didn't usually go for attacks on strigoi, it was almost impossible to win as they sensed you were there and coming for them before you could even fully grab your stake, but this time, I don't think there is any choice. He needed to die, and he needed to die soon.

'Rose!' I heard Dimitri yell, followed by the loud slapping sound of his steps hitting the road as he sprinted towards me.

As he approached I looked up and smiled, wanting to reassure him that I was okay. When he was stood over me he realised that I was perfectly fine, but as always he could see something was bothering me. Gnawing away at me inside, trying to find a solution to my troubles. He crouched down and dropped into the sitting position next to me, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and the other around my waist, as he gently pulled me to him. 'What's going on?' He whispered into my ear softly.

'It wasn't a random attack.' I told him. I so badly wanted to cry, to scream, to hit something so hard and make them suffer as much as I had, as much as I am! But I needed to keep a control on my emotions, because if anything was going to make me loose this battle, it was going to be not having a hold on myself.

'Continue.' He had his guardian voice on, and when I looked up at him, his mask had slipped covering over his features. He was treating this like he would any other strigoi related problem. Maybe for once though, this was a good thing, least one of us had a clear head, free of judgement and confusion.

I sighed and leant in closer to him, his warmth being more comforting to me than anything else I had ever experienced. 'Christian sent him, with a message for me.'

'And that was?' He prompted, wanting as much information as possible so he could analyse the situation from all possible angles.

I scoffed; this is what I didn't understand. He had already told me he would know where I was at all times, why waste a strigoi life on his part – not that I bothered me, one less strigoi was always good in my book -, knowing that the message had already delivered. Maybe he thought that I thought he wasn't serious and he wanted the message to properly hit home. 'This is where he looses points for unoriginality. He used the stereotypical bad boy saying.' I did my best impression on Christian voice, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. It had become so tense it was almost stifling. 'I know where you are, you can't run from me.' I looked at Dimitri who had now dropped his guardian look slightly, his brows furrowed, showing the worry that was marring his beautiful face.

I pressed my fingers on the intrusive crease. I didn't want Dimitri to worry about this. He was always so concerned about me, I didn't want anything to add to the pile of worries he had already. Under my touch the crease softened and disappeared, his eyes became gentle and he leant forward and pressed his lips to mine. At first he was gentle, but then the kiss grew hungry. Both of us grabbing at each other like we had been starved of each other forever. His hands knotted in my hair, pulling my face harder to his, and I locked my arms around his neck in a choke hold so I could bring my body closer.

There was a throat clearing and we both broke away, realising we were still in the street with Yeva, Mark and Oksana looking at us, all of them except Yeva with a hint of embarrassment colouring their cheeks.

'Sorry.' I croaked disentangling myself from Dimitri and standing up. I hadn't realised how inappropriate a position we had been in, but as I stood, I realised I had been straddling him, with Dimitri pressed hard between me and the tree. I looked down at Dimitri and saw his eyes hooded with love and lust and I was pretty sure my eyes were mirroring the emotions I was seeing in him.

'Rose, are you hurt?' Oksana asked, I could see she was so much like Lissa, more than willing to heal anyone who was in need.

I shook my head; Dimitri stood up next to me and grabbed my chin, making me look at him. 'He hit you.' He stated, gently touching the corner of my eye and top of my nose.

I jolted my head out of his reach, knowing he would ask Oksana to sort it out for me if I gave him half the chance. 'I'm fine, he just caught me slightly, honestly, I've had worse.' Oksana lifted her hand, but I didn't want her to waste her energy. 'No Oksana, I'm fine, seriously. Save your energy for people who need it.'

She nodded and took a step back, moving into the encirclement of Mark's arms. Mark smiled at me, thanking me with his eyes for politely declining Oksana's offer. He was like me, anything to do with spirit that she did, he was likely to take from her, and knowing what it was like first hand, I didn't want to be the cause of that happening to someone else.

'Thank you for your hospitality. We will see you in a few days, but I think I need to get Rose and my grandmother home now.' Dimitri smiled warmly at the couple before grabbing my hand and dragging me off, back down the road.

Well, today had been... eventful.


	15. Chapter 15

The walk back home wasn't anywhere near as long as the journey to Mark and Oksana's house. I was on alert the whole way back though. Not letting my guard down once and I could see Dimitri was the same. We had both been shook up by what had just happened. I suppose we thought by leaving the country, we could leave some of our worries behind as well; obviously life doesn't work like that.

When we entered the house I was greeted by Rosie, who shot up the hallway and lunged at my leg, gripping onto it so tightly that she could give my own strength a run for its money. 'Hey sweetie.' I said, scooping her up and cradling her in my arms. I always felt fractionally better when I could snuggle up to her and know that she was safe.

Tears started to stream down her face and her bottom lip quivered. 'You left me.'

My heart just about broke when she said that. Did she seriously think I would leave her all alone? I wiped away her tears and used all my strength to hold back my own. Seeing her so broken always pulled on my heart strings. 'No I didn't Rosie, I wouldn't ever do that.' I whispered, stroking her hair soothingly.

I saw Yeva walk past me and into the kitchen followed by Olena who seemed to know we needed a little privacy. The only person who stayed was Dimitri who came up to us both and wrapped his arms around us protectively. Rosie removed one of the arms she had wrapped around my neck and slung it around his neck so she had a choke hold on both of us. 'But I woke up and you weren't there.'

I kissed her cheek. 'We had to go and see a nice moroi woman. She is going to help your momma.' I smiled at her reassuringly.

Rosie nodded but didn't say anything. I don't think she wanted to think about Lissa waking up too much, she was smart for her age. She knew there was a chance her mom wouldn't be able to wake up again, and she wasn't going to get her hopes up. Dimitri sensed the hesitance Rosie was showing when talking about this topic so he decided to change the subject.

'Anyway miss, what are you still doing up?' He asked, tickling her stomach and making her squeal right down my ear.

'I didn't want to sleep without seeing Aunt Rose and you, so Olena made me some cookies and we sat watching a movie.' She said, innocence covering her features. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be up at this time, but she also knew that look of pure cuteness that she always put on whenever she wanted to get away with something always worked as well.

Dimitri took her into his arms and smirked at her. 'Well you've seen us now, so I think its bed time and maybe if you're lucky, while Aunt Rose is sorting herself out, I might read you a story.' Dimitri was so good with kids, it hurt me to know that I was never able to give him them. It also worried me. Was I really worth the sacrifice?

Dimitri and Rosie started heading up the stairs when Rosie asked. 'Can I stay in your room tonight?'

Just what we needed. A wriggly three year old, throwing herself around the bed all night, keeping us awake. I decided Dimitri could make that decision so I walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I'd give them some time before I went up, maybe Dimitri could settle Rosie so I could just go straight to sleep when I went upstairs.

As I entered the kitchen Karolina saw my face, gasped and then grabbed my arm and sat me down on one of the dining room chairs. 'You sit.' She ordered, grabbing the first aid kit from on top of the fridge. 'Let me clean you up.'

She knelt so she was in front of me, and dabbed wet gauze over where I had been hit. It didn't sting or anything because I had no visible cut, but the coldness soothed the bruise that was bound to appear and I was pretty sure it would clean any dried blood I had on my face from my nose bleed.

'My grandmother told me what happened.' She said to me, going over to the freezer once she was satisfied that I was cleaned up and pulled out an icepack. She handed it to me. 'Keep this on; he caught your eye by the look of it. You sure are going to have a shiner.'

'That's nothing new then.' I chuckled, placing the ice carefully on my left eye. 'When I was back at the academy, I always had bruises. Most of them were from the combat sessions I had with your brother though.'

Her face softened at the mention of Dimitri. 'You know he loves you, don't you?'

I nodded but kept silent. 'He's so different when he's with you, so relaxed, so at peace. He's just like he was when he was younger, more carefree. I like seeing him this way. He deserves happiness more than anyone.'

I smiled. 'He does.'

Her face suddenly grew very serious. 'You know when he left you he was broken. I spoke to him on the phone shortly after he had left; I've never heard him sound so... lifeless. It hurt to hear.'

I stiffened at the mention of his departure. 'Yeah, well, he brought all that on himself when he decided to abandon me. It's not like I pushed him through the door.' Anger was starting to bubble away in me as I relived the memories. As much as I loved him now, and as much as I was willing to put aside my feelings so I could be with him, it was still a sore spot when him leaving was mentioned.

'Rose, have you actually talked to him about why he left?' She asked patiently.

I shook my head. 'I'm not ready for that yet. At the moment I'm just seeing if we can rebuilt the ruins of what we had.'

She sighed and bit her lip. I could see her warring with herself as whether to mention something to me or not. In the end she decided to. 'I don't want to come across as interfering, but how can you rebuild something when you haven't been openly honest with each other yet. Starting your relationship on top of unknowns and lies isn't going to work out all that well, you two need to talk about what went wrong between you, because I'm telling you now Rose, I think you will be shocked at the reasoning behind his actions.'

I opened my mouth to argue, my argument being about Tasha. Karolina seemed to know that and beat me to the punch. 'And he didn't leave you for Tasha, Tasha was just the only place he could go without waiting to be reassigned officially which could have taken months.'

'But he didn't need to go in the first place. So why was it so important to leave me so abruptly?' I asked, finally letting my emotions get the better of me. I felt tears prickling behind my lids but I blinked them back furiously, I had shed enough tears over the years on this particular topic, I didn't need to add to the total.

'Don't you think it should be him you're asking?' She replied reasonably.

I got up and headed to the door, mulling over what I had just been told. 'Okay, I will talk to him and soon. But just not yet, I'm still not ready. Especially if I have to hear something I don't want to hear.' Strigoi I could handle, but rejection, not so much.

As I got to the door leading into mine and Dimitri's room I heard a muffle of voices. The door was left slightly ajar, easier for me to hear what they were talking about. Rosie was twirling a long strand of Dimitri's hair that had fallen out of his pony tail around her chubby hands.

'Is Aunt Rose your girlfriend?' She asked.

'Yes she is.' He replied proudly, I could imagine the half smile he would have covering his mouth as he said this.

'Do you love her?' Rosie giggled at this question. The whole boy-girl relationship still baffled her.

'Yes.' I leant back against the wall, not wanting either of them to see me peaking through the gap.

'Are you going to marry her?' What was this? Twenty questions?

I waited for this response; his answer would answer a lot of questions for me. 'I'd like to.' He answered confidently. My heart thumped louder. So least I knew he was serious about me.

'Are you going to ask her?' Persistent much, Rosie?

'Not yet.' He sighed. 'I think we have a long way to go before Roza would accept a wedding proposal from me.' I nodded to myself. We have got a way to go, but it probably wouldn't take as much as he thought it would to make me say yes.

'Why do you love Aunt Rose?'

'Because she is beautiful, strong, powerful, fearless, loving, caring and so much more. Why do you love your Aunt Rose?' He asked, switching the interrogation a bit.

'Because she is my Aunt and she loves me.' Rosie answered. Blunt and truthful, she could at least of said how great I was. 'And because she is like another momma. I'm glad I got to stay with her. She's the bestest.'

'She is that.' Dimitri agreed. I could hear a rustling and I assumed he was tucking her in. I heard him make his way to the door but Rosie stopped him just before he could push it open.

'Because you are Aunt Rose's boyfriend, does that mean I have to call you Uncle Dimitri?' She asked. She had asked me that before we came and I didn't know what to say to her so I just said she would have to ask him.

'You don't have to.' He said with the hint of affection in his voice, giving away the love he felt for the little girl.

'Can I though?' She yawned.

'You can if you want to Rosie.' He chuckled opening the door.

'Okay. Night Uncle Dimitri.' She whispered.

He chuckled louder. 'Night Rosie, sleep tight.'

He opened the door and stepped out, starting when he saw me sitting on the floor with my ear pressed against the wall. 'Are you eavesdropping?' He asked, sitting down next to me and taking my hand.

'Well duh. I'm not exactly sitting here for comfort am I?' I muttered sarcastically.

I swear I saw his cheeks colour slightly but they returned back to his normal colour too quickly if they did for me to see. 'How much did you hear?' He asked, not meeting my eyes.

'Enough.' I said and leant in to kiss him on the cheek to show him that I was happy for everything he had said about me. 'Your beautiful, strong, fearless girlfriend loves you too, very much.'

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. 'How much else did you hear?'

I knew what he wanted to know about, if I had heard him mention us getting married. I don't know if he wanted me to know he had spoken about that or not, so I decided to let him figure it out for himself whether I heard or not. 'Now that would be telling wouldn't it? _Uncle Dimitri_.' I chuckled at the last bit.

'Indeed it would.' He got up, wiping off any dust that had clung to his trousers and pulled me up to stand next to him.

I looked into the room, wanting nothing more to just crash out and sleep for the next few days, but I knew if Rosie was still awake she would be chattering away until early hours of the morning if I went in there now. 'Is Rosie asleep yet?' I asked him.

'Not yet.'

'Well in that case, I'm going to go have a nice long bath before I climb into bed.' I stretched and yawned before turning towards the bathroom.

'Do you need any company?' Dimitri asked as I walked away from him.

I turned and winked at him. 'Now there is an idea.' I beckoned him to come with me and he walked over so we were side by side.

'No funny business though, not tonight, I just need to relax.' I warned. After my talk with Karolina I also realised it probably wasn't the right thing to do, to take our relationship to the next level when we still had so much unfinished business, even though I really, _really _wanted to. She was right; there was no way to make this work if we just started again, based on broken problems.

He looked at me solemnly and raised a hand. 'Scouts honour.'

I chuckled as we went into the bathroom, and turned the taps on. 'You weren't a scout, you faker.'

'Yeah I know, but the promise sounds more sincere I think.' He admitted.

I splashed some water, soaking his shirt with it. 'Moron.'

An evil glint lit up his eyes and an unnerving smirk curved his mouth. He walked towards me and I tried to walk as far away from him as possible, my legs hitting the bath, I had to use the wall behind to stop myself from landing in the bath full of water.

He grabbed me by the shoulders, lifting me up, somehow managing to shift me, so he could hold me bridal style over the tub. I screamed and tried to wriggle out of his hold. He looked down at the wet splodge on his shirt and raised his eyebrow at me. 'You are so going to pay for that.'

I smiled at him timidly. 'No, no. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to get your clothes wet.' I whimpered, trying to suppress the laugh that was threatening to make my insincerity known.

'You know, I don't think you are being sincere with that apology.' He mused, lifting me higher so when he dropped me he would make a bigger splash.

'No, Dimitri. I am. I'm sorry. So, so sorry.' I begged, biting my lip still trying to hold back my amusement.

'You know what?' he held me further away from him, his wicked grin lighting up his face till it shone like a beacon. 'I don't believe you.' Then he dropped me.

Water went everywhere, a tsunami soaking not only me but him and the walls in the bathroom. I shrieked as I hit the water and shoved my way into the sitting position. Good thing it was a big bath and had been mostly filled with water otherwise that drop would have left a few bruises. I stood quickly, scowling at him as I did so. I grabbed the shower head and pointed it at him, my hand on the knob to turn it on, I winked at him.

'You wouldn't dare.' He said backing away from me.

I giggled. 'Silly Dimitri, you of all people should know not to give me a dare, you know I can't resist making them happen.' The I hit the knob and water shot out covering him in freezing cold water. He glared at me, trying to reach for the shower head. His glare wasn't annoyed though, it was amused. I could tell now though by the set of his face, he meant business and he wouldn't be finished until he had won this water fight.

What had I done? I think I have just started world war three.


	16. Chapter 16

After last nights water fight, Dimitri and I had spent a good hour cleaning and drying the bathroom so Olena wouldn't find out, but when she walked in on us and saw the mess we had created she just laughed and shook her head. So much for panicking for upsetting the boyfriend's family. I think the main reason Olena didn't go off on one was because firstly, she was just that easy going and secondly, it had probably been a long time since she had seen her only son do something as childish and immature as have a water fight, it reassured her that her child was still in there somewhere and was still able to come out and play sometimes. I have to admit, although it was a pain in the ass to clean up, the water fight with Dimitri was the most fun I have had in a long time.

I woke up the next morning to the soft sound of Rosie's laughter. It didn't sound like she was in the room, her giggles were too distant, but I knew she was up. I opened my eyes and leaned up on my elbows giving the room a quick scout, double checking that she in fact wasn't there with Dimitri and me.

'She's downstairs, she wanted to play with Paul, even though I don't think he really appreciates having a three year old follow him everywhere.' Dimitri laughed; he tightened his hold on me and pulled me closer to him.

'I've already told her to leave him alone countless times; I think Paul is just going to have to deal with it until we leave.' I turned slightly so I could mould myself around the shape of his body.

'So' Dimitri sighed, kissing the top of my head. 'What is on the agenda for today? No more strigoi attacks I hope.' He tried to joke about it, but I could feel the tension in his body when he thought of me being attacked and tracked.

'No, I think even for me, the last month has been too much. I'm sick of fighting for the minute.' I mused for a second. 'Hmm, I never thought I would ever hear myself say that.'

'That makes two of us.' Dimitri whispered, gently stroking his left hand through my hair. I closed my eyes and tried to get even closer to him, if that were possible. It was nice just lying in bed with him, nothing to distract us or make us separate. I couldn't remember the last time I had been able to just lie there and relax, thinking about nothing. 'You didn't answer my question.' He pointed out. 'What are we doing today?'

'Oksana wanted us to bring her some silver, so she could infuse it with spirit. Did you hear her telling me about it yesterday?' He nodded. 'Yeah, well, I thought it would be a good opportunity to buy me some new jewellery.'

'Anything to keep you safe.' He murmured into my ear, his breath tickling my skin and making goosebumps arise.

'We need to get some stuff for you and Rosie as well. It won't prevent you from getting hurt, but it will make you feel stronger.'

'You better not be planning to get me some earrings or something, because that is where I draw the line.' He chuckled but I failed to see the funny side.

For once I was thinking things over and being completely serious, and he had to go and try and make a joke. 'That's not funny, and no, I'm thinking a ring or something, not a necklace because that can be ripped off. I don't know, maybe when we go shopping I will think of more.'

'Rose, I know you think this will help, but as you said, it isn't the be all and end all. I don't think all this charmed stuff is actually necessary.' He said softly.

I sat up, moving out of his grasp, so I could glare menacingly down at him. 'Right we could fight about this, but I'm going to save you the energy. You will wear whatever I buy for you, even if you think it is the most hideous thing ever created. You don't have a say with this and if you even think about going against me I will make your life a misery. Understand?'

He smirked at me and moved closer to me again. Pulling me back onto the bed so I was lying down, then he moved so he was hovering over me. 'You know, you're really hard to resist when you're telling me what to do.'

'Yeah and you know what? I am going to be a real bitch if you choose to ignore what I've told you.' I answered, giving him my best don't-mess-with-me look.

He chuckled and leant down so his lips were just millimetres away from my own. 'Oh, I don't doubt it.' Then his lips connected with mine. At first it was just a soft good morning kiss, but then as it continued, I could feel his body get all warmed up. He moved one of his hands into my hair, snagging into it with his fingers and he moved the other one, down my side, over my hip and then he gripped my leg just above my knee, bringing it up so it was wrapped around him. I wrapped one of my arms around him so my nails dug into his back and the other hand roamed over his chest, tracing the pattern of his muscular stomach.

He moved his lips from mine, laughing at my protests, and he started to kiss down my neck. 'So what time are we planning to go out?' He asked, I could feel the smiled he was trying to suppress leak out onto his lips.

He slid his hands to the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up, I leant up so that he could easily pull it over my head, then I pulled his lips back to mine. 'Mm, not till later.' I was silent for a second as he went back to kissing my neck, then nibbling gently on the flesh. 'Not till much, much later.'

He chuckled lightly. 'Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say.'

'Aunt Rose, Aunt Rose, you need to get up. Olena said breakfast is ready.' We heard Rosie's voice before she shot round the corner and into our room. Lucking her yelling gave Dimitri time to jump off me and try and compose himself after moaning to himself about kids and their sense of timing.

I threw the covers off me and sat at the edge of the bed, gently probing at my now swollen lips that I had acquired after Dimitri's hard kisses. Rosie came to a stop when she saw me and looked at me questioningly. 'Aunt Rose, where is your shirt?'

I looked down at myself and realised I was sitting there in just my bra and the sweatpants I had warn to sleep in last night. I heard Dimitri snort, trying to hold back his laughter. I looked at him, hoping he could help me come up with an explanation but he just smirked, telling me with his attitude that he was going to let me handle this one myself. 'Um. I lost it.' I said. I know it was one of the lamest excuses there is, but my mind drew a blank and I couldn't exactly tell the three year old stood in front of me expectantly, that I was in the process of hooking up with my boyfriend.

Rosie looked around the room until she spotted my discarded shirt, lying scrunched up at the side of the bed. 'Here it is.' She said proudly holding up the garment.

'Oh silly me, how didn't I see it there?' I asked, faking my stupidity. I took it from her and slipped it on over my head. 'Rosie honey, why don't you go down and tell them we'll be there in a minute.'

She nodded and ran out the room. I turned to Dimitri and sighed. 'Well that was a close one; we really need to lock that door next time.' I was trying to get him away from the topic I knew he was going to bring up; I knew he was going to start on my lame excuse. 'Don't even start.' I said, warning him with my eyes. But of course Dimitri Belikov feared nothing and no one, even the terrifying me, so he ignored my warning and began to take the piss anyway.

'Honestly Rose, _you lost it_? Even for a three year old, I'm pretty sure she is going to be wondering how you lost your shirt when you were wearing it. Least when I was your mentor you could come up with some pretty good excuses. I think you've lost your touch.' He stated.

'Have I now?' I asked, crawling on top of the bed, so I was positioned on top of him, but not touching him, I was being held up on all fours. I leaned forward and whispered seductively in his ear. 'Do you really think that I've lost my touch?' I gently stroked a single finger down his chest and I heard his faint gulp as he was trying to control his breathing. I dropped my face to his so we were centimetres away from our lips connecting. He didn't answer me. 'Do you really think I've lost my touch?' I repeated, purring even more seductively.

This time however he shook his head and I carefully place my lips over his. I loved how soft his mouth felt when touching mine and I craved his spicy but sweet taste. It was intoxicating and something I knew I was becoming addicted to... again. I pulled away before we could have chance to get carried away. I could see the disappointment in his eyes, but there was also reasoning and understanding there. He knew we couldn't get lost in ourselves. Not yet anyway. I place my finger over his lips and kissed his cheek, whispering 'To be continued.' In his ear before pulling away and heading out of our room.

When I got downstairs every chair was occupied except two at the very end of the table. I guess that was where Dimitri and I were supposed to sit. I smiled at the family and wondered over to take my seat. Olena had made so much for us all to eat. I don't know how she managed to make it all without getting up at three in the morning. There was a variety of cereals boxed and positioned at the end of the table, closest to me, and then there was a large plate of toast with a pot of butter next to it. Then there were plates full of egg, bacon, sausages and French toast. There was a pot of coffee on the side as well and some freshly squeezed juices and some milk. It was like our own personal buffet. I looked down at Rosie and her empty plate.

'What do you want princess?' I asked.

She looked around the table; it seemed she was finding it hard to choose since there was so much option. I really wish that I had had a mother who cooked like this when I was younger, but some of us just aren't that lucky. 'Toast.' She answered

'Rosie, you've got all these lovely options and you want toast. The same thing you have every morning.'

Dimitri walked in at this moment and said good morning to his family before dropping a kiss on both mine and Rosie's heads. 'Roza let her have what she wants, if she would like toast then give it to her.'

'Fine.' I sighed, picking up a piece of toast and buttering it. 'Let me guess, you want raspberry jam on it.'

She nodded and once I had finished spreading the jam and she took the food from me, taking a huge bite out of it as soon as she had a hold on it, smearing jam all over her face. I chuckled, helping myself to some bacon.

'Where are you two going today then?' Olena asked Dimitri, who was digging into his own breakfast.

'Shopping. Rose wants some new jewellery.' He said after swallowing his food. He leant around me so he could see Rosie. 'Rosie, are you up for that?'

She dropped her toast and scowled at him. 'I don't want to go shopping with you two. Olena said she would take me to the park today and get me some ice cream.' She whined.

I wasn't fussed if she didn't want to come with us but I didn't want Olena to feel like she had to look after Rosie, it was enough that she had let us stay here and looked after us so well. 'Olena, are you sure? Because she can come with us if you want some time to yourself.'

Olena smiled warmly at me and placed her hand over mine. 'Dear, in this house, there is no such thing as time to yourself. I am more than happy to have Rosie for the day; I think it would be good for you and Dimka to have a day to yourselves. Go out and enjoy yourselves.'

Well, in that case, I wasn't going to argue. It would probably be a quicker process if we didn't have to cart Rosie around with us unwillingly. Not that I minded looking after her, I loved having her with me, but if she didn't want to go, I knew she was going to be in one of her awkward disagreeable moods if we took her.

I was about to thank her for her consideration, but Dimitri beat me to the punch. 'Thank you Mama, that is very kind of you.'

Rosie fixed me with one of her smug I-got-my-own-way-and-now-I'm-going-to-gloat-about-it smiles and I glared at her warningly, the last thing I needed was for her to start acting spoilt and forgetting her manners. 'What do you say to Olena, Rosie?'

She turned and smiled sweetly. 'Thank you Olena.'

After breakfast, I got Rosie bathed and dressed, dressing her in one of her favourite purple dresses and pulling her hair back with a hair band the same colour. I had asked Olena not to take her out for too long though because I didn't want her getting too drained out in the sun. Olena had already thought about that and pointed out to me that it was a pretty overcast day. Even though the sun wasn't out the day could still be pretty draining to a moroi, but the good thing was that it didn't affect them as much. Once Rosie was dressed I said goodbye and Olena took her downstairs to help her clean up the kitchen before they left.

'Are you ready Rose?' Dimitri called as he came out of the bathroom. He took one look at me and stopped. 'You're not even dressed.' He pointed out.

'How kind of you to notice.' I replied sarcastically.

'I thought you wanted to go soon?' He asked, puzzled.

'I do, but I had to get Rosie ready first.' I quickly jumped into the bathroom. 'Give me half an hour.' I said, slamming the door in his face before he would have chance to answer.

'Is that a normal thirty minute half an hour, or a Rose half an hour?' He called through the door.

I scowled at the door which I was sure he was standing behind. 'A normal half an hour!' I called back.

'Fine, I'll be downstairs.'

Forty minutes later I was ready to go, I went down to meet him in the living room. He was sat there, sprawled out on the sofa with one of his western novels. He was reading with such concentration he didn't even see me come in. He was so absorbed with his fictional characters it was funny. I snuck the back way around the sofa and jumped up behind him, placing a kiss on his cheek. 'You ready to go Comrade, or are you going to be all old and stay in reading your western?'

'Hmm, I don't know.' He mused, pretending to think really hard about his options. 'What are my choices again?'

I moved so I was now in front of him and sat down on his lap, draping my arms around his neck. 'Well, you either stay here, be boring and read. Or you can spend the day with your gorgeous girlfriend?' I smiled sweetly at him. 'I think the choice is pretty obvious.'

He looked up at me and smirked. 'Yeah, you're right, the choice is pretty obvious.' He threw me off of him and stuck him nose back in his book, amusement lighting up his chocolate eyes. 'Have fun shopping Roza.'

I gaped at him, watching as a slow smile commandeered his face, making all his features glow. I picked up a cushion from the neighbouring arm chair and smacked him with it. 'Get your ass off the couch and take me shopping!' I ordered, putting as much authority into my voice as possible.

He dropped the book instantly and snapped up so he was stood in front of me, then he saluted me. 'Yes ma'am.' He chuckled, and then grabbed the car keys in one hand, my hand in the other, and off we went.

Dimitri took us out of Baia to go shopping. He said that we might as well go somewhere else since I had never been to Russia before and we could buy what we wanted pretty much anywhere. We didn't go far away though. We wanted to keep close in case we needed to get back for Rosie. Shopping had taken longer than we had anticipated and by the time we were finished, it was almost dark. We had gotten everything we thought we needed and it had taken up a lot of our time, and money, but I didn't mind. If I was honest it was nice to spend a day out with Dimitri, just the two of us. I would have to thank Olena again when we got back home.

We had bought, a silver locket with a rose on for Rosie, Dimitri tried to get me a matching one, so he nearly ended up with it down his throat, and we also got her a little bracelet with a ruby in it. Dimitri was the one who had the least, he just had a plain band ring that he could wear on his middle finger, he refused anything else, but one thing was better than nothing. Then for me, I got a tiny silver band to wear on my pinkie, a delicate plain silver chain and matching bracelet. I knew that the necklace and bracelet could be easily pulled off, but least while they were on they would be doing me some good.

I dropped our bags in the backseat and climbed into the passenger seat. Dimitri smiled at me and took my hand. 'Did you enjoy yourself?' He asked.

'Yeah, I actually did.' I smiled. 'We'll have to go shopping more often.'

He groaned and turned the key in the ignition to start the car. We waited. Nothing happened. He tried again; the engine came to life, stuttered then went dead. 'Comrade, you know, this is the time when we leave the parking lot.' I joked.

He shot me a dirty look and tried again. Nothing. He got out with a puzzled look on his face and went round to lift the bonnet. 'Rose could you press the button please?' He called.

I looked at him, confused. 'What button?'

'The one that will unlock the hood so I can have a look and see what's wrong.' He stated matter of factly, looking at me as if I was mentally challenged.

'Oh, that one.' I nodded, but I had no clue which button that was. I may be good at a lot of things, like fighting and killing strigoi, but cars? They were not one of my many talents. I figured if I pressed every switch I could find, I was bound to find the one he needed me to press, and anyway, with the engine off, I wasn't going to cause too much damage was I? I hope not anyway.

Finally I managed to press the right one and I heard the click of the hood unlocking. Dimitri lifted it and stuck his head inside. I was really tempted to press the horn, you know like they do in movies, and then the person trying to look at their car bangs their heads. But I thought even for me, that prank was too mean. Well, to do to Dimitri it was too mean; it was the sort of thing I would do to Christian if he was pissing me off. My heart clenched at the though of Christian and I climbed out the car to help Dimitri, needing to take my mind off the topic I had just come across.

'It's no use; I don't know what's wrong with it. We'll just have to get a tow truck.' Dimitri sighed slamming the hood down and leaning against it.

'Well how long is that going to take?' I asked jumping on the bonnet so I was perched on the end, my legs dangling, not quite reaching the floor.

'Too long. I think our best bet is to go find a motel or something that we can stay at tonight and then call for a pick up in the morning.' He replied.

I jumped off the car and turned to face him, hands on hips. 'Fine, but you're paying since you broke the car.'

'And how do you suppose I managed to do that?' He asked, doing his trademark one eyebrow raised thing.

'I don't know, but you're the one who was driving so you have to have done something. I offered to drive and you declined my offer. If you had listened we could be on our way home now.' I started to walk away.

'If I had let you drive we would have been wrapped around a tree somewhere.' He called after me.

'Maybe, but at least then we would have known what was wrong with the car.' I yelled back. I stopped and waited for him to catch up with me. His light laughter filled the air. Usually I would be pissed off if something like this happened, but not tonight, I had a feeling tonight was probably going to be the main highlight of the whole trip.


	17. Chapter 17

It didn't take long before Dimitri had found us a decent motel to stay in. We didn't need anything posh or expensive, we just needed somewhere clean and warm enough to sleep in. After about thirty minutes of walking we found a small, homely looking motel. I tried to pronounce the name but it was in too hard to say and every time Dimitri would try and teach me it, I would end up getting tongue tied and he would end up with a slap on the arm for laughing at my incapability to pronounce the name correctly.

He led me into the foyer and over to check in desk. There was no one there so we waited a few seconds. 'Talk about quality service.' I muttered sarcastically, earning me one of his well known disapproving glares.

'Rose, seriously. Couldn't you be a little bit more subtle?' He sighed.

I raised my eyebrows at him. Had he ever even met me? Subtle wasn't one of my characteristics. That was what was so great about my personality. I spoke my mind, even if I knew the person listening to me wasn't going to like it. Least with me, people knew where they stood.

'Dimitri Belikov? Is that you?' A high pitched feminine voice asked from behind us. The thing that immediately caught my attention was the fact she had a strong Russian accent, but she was speaking in English. That was strange.

Dimitri and I both turned at the same time to look behind us at the new addition in the room. Stood there, walking over to us was a tall, blonde dhampir. My jaw dropped to the floor, I could practically taste the floor cleaning products they used. The woman approached us, a bright smile lighting up her pretty face. Okay, so pretty wasn't the right word. She was beautiful; she was the sort of person you would imagine to find on the cover of fashion magazines. She had long tanned legs exposed to the cold night air by wearing a skirt – if you could call it a skirt, it was more like a belt – and her legs were so long they seemed to be never ending. She had a figure most women would die for, she was curvy but petit. Long blonde hair cascaded down her back, coming to a stop at her hips and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement at seeing Dimitri.

'Eleanora what are you doing here?' He asked, his smile matching hers. Although I had only just met the woman, I instantly hated her; I wanted to be the only person who was capable of getting the reaction out of Dimitri that he was giving her. Jealousy burned away under my skin and I felt my eyes should be green with envy.

'I work here; have done for five years now. What are you doing here, last thing I heard you were in the states working as a guardian.' She cooed, grabbing him and pulling him into a hug. Her long manicured nails, gently stroking his back. I wanted to snap her limbs off now.

'Yeah, I'm here on guardian work.' He replied, taking her hand and squeezing it.

'Well, it's great to see you; it's been too long Dimka, too, too long.' She said, her plum coloured full lips, pulling into a breathtaking smile, showing her perfect cupid's arrow shaped mouth.

'So, what can I do for you?' She asked going back around to the other side of the counter.

'I need a room please, if you have one free.' He said. He leant his forearms on the counter and watched her avidly as she typed away on the computer. I didn't feel right about the way he was looking at her. Okay, it was a hollow echo of the way he looks at me, but still, seeing that look on his face when looking at someone else made me feel... discarded.

While she waited for the computer to load she leant over and took his hand again. He had obviously forgotten that I was even present and that hurt. I could see he was captivated by her.

'So Dimka, just a room for one?' She asked innocently, typing away again.

'Um...' He shook his head then and he quickly turned towards me, guilt written all over his face. 'No, um, we need a double room please.' I was so disgusted by the insecurities that I was feeling at this moment in time that I couldn't even meet his eye.

I was Rose Hathaway, a guy could never make me doubt myself, or question my appearance or my worth. But for some reason with him, I always would. I would always ask myself whether I was good enough. Wonder when he was going to leave me because he found someone better. I hated that he had the power over me to make me feel so small and insignificant and I also hated that he could make me feel so alive and wonderful at the same time.

'A double room?' Eleanora asked. Then she turned her attention to me and her smile faltered slightly. 'Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you there, and you are?'

I fixed her with an icy glare and took a step away from both of them. 'I'm his _girlfriend, _Rose.' My voice was a monotone. Lifeless and bland. How could such a perfect day take such a nasty turn? I actually felt embarrassed at the way he had completely forgotten about me, I couldn't believe that Dimitri, _my _Dimitri had just done that to me.

'Rose, this is Eleanora.' Dimitri said, I could hear the apology and guilt in his voice, but nothing he could do was going to soften the wrath I was going to unleash on him when we were alone.

'Yeah, I know. I can read her name tag.' I snapped, crossing my arms and turning away from both of them.

I heard them make their quiet exchange of money and keys behind me, and then I heard Dimitri's steps approaching me. He went to take my hand, but I jerked it away from him. No way was he going to touch me after treating me the way he just had. I stormed off toward the elevator.

'No Roza, we're on the ground floor.' He said and I followed him through the double doors leading to the corridor our room was situated in.

Once we were in the room and settled Dimitri walked over to me and tried to put his arms around me. 'Don't touch me.' I hissed, jumping out of his reach.

'Roza...' Dimitri tried, but I ignored him, walking over to the wardrobe and pulling out a towel and one of the big fluffy white robes they supplied.

I stormed past Dimitri and went straight to the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind me. I needed to chill before I said anything to him because I knew I would completely loose it, and loose along side my temper, my sense for a reasonable argument. I used the complimentary shower gel and shampoo and conditioned the hotel supplied, it didn't make my hair as soft as my usual products, but I felt like I needed to cleanse myself of all my heated feelings.

Once out the shower I slipped my underwear back on, and then put the robe on top. When I re-entered the room, Dimitri was sat on the bed, his head in his hands. 'Shower's free if you want it.' I said my voice an emotionless void.

'Look, Rose. I'm sorry for what happened earlier. That was cruel of me. Eleanora is an old friend and I just got caught up in seeing her again.'

'Yeah, you both looked very _friendly _towards each other. Especially when her hands were making their way all over your body.' I spat, turning to look at him so he could see the extent of the hurt he had caused me, by showing him the betrayal I felt, by projecting it out with my eyes. I knew I was over exaggerating, she only really made any contact with him on his back and hands, but still it wasn't what she did, it was the way she did it.

'Rose, it wasn't what you think. Okay I admit we were flirting a bit, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of harmless flirtation is there? You do it all the time.' He tried to defend himself, but by the look on his face, his excuse was weak in his own ears.

'Yeah, I may flirt a bit, but I'm always messing around if I'm doing it with anyone but you and I make sure everyone knows it. And I would never ever do something so belittling to you. Do you know how small and insignificant you just made me feel? And anyway, that wasn't flirting, that was too intimate to be called that. I don't even know what you would call what you just did.'

He flinched at my words and tried to slowly approach me, but when I moved further away, he tried apologizing again. 'Rose, I'm really sorry.'

I lifted my arms up in exasperation, and then slammed them back down, making a slapping noise as they hit my sides. 'You know what? Forget it. It's nothing more than what I expected. I knew I was making a mistake by deluding myself into thinking you actually would stay with me.'

'What do you mean what you expected? Deluding yourself?'

I smirked at him and crossed my arms over my chest. 'I wasn't enough for you last time, so why should I be enough for you now?'

I saw anger flash across his features, but he quickly controlled it. 'You are more than enough for me; you know how much I love you.'

I ignored what he said and carried on with my rant. I knew I was going to get petty and act childish with what I was going to say next, but I needed to vent all my feelings out before I could regain my composure, or replace the illusion that I could cope with things. 'You left me for Tasha last time, so this time is it going to be Eleanora? She seems nice, more your type. Girly, more of a damsel in distress sort of girl. Just how you like them, needy and defenceless, that way you can do your whole night in shining armour thing all the time, because I know how much you like to play the hero!' I screamed the last bit at him, loosing that last weak hold I had on my temper. I saw a book lying on the desk to the left of me and I picked it up and threw it at him.

'Roza!' He exclaimed, managing to my disappointment to dodge the flying object.

He edged closer to me, to get a better look in my eyes. I guess he was seeing if I had been taken over the darkness, like I had when he had seen my last outburst, back at the academy, when Jesse had pretty much tortured Lissa. I sneered at him. 'No Comrade, no darkness this time, all this anger that I am feeling is down to you.'

Anger again touched his features, but this time it stayed. He looked like he wanted to hit me or shake me. He lunged forward pinning me to the wall with his body and catching my face in his hands, making me look up at him. 'I will never leave you again. I didn't leave you for Tasha last time, and I'm not going to leave you for Eleanora this time, I will _never _leave you again.' His eyes were begging me to believe him, I could see the hurt protruding out of his eyes, but I felt no sympathy towards him, or guilt that I was the one inflicting pain on him. He should have thought about his actions before he treated me the way he had.

I pushed him away from me so we could have some space. His scent clouded my thoughts when he was stood too close, making me in favour of forgiving him. 'Yeah and why don't I believe that?'

He sat on the bed, finally giving up trying to be reasonable. 'Rose, why are you acting so insecure?'

'Because that is how you make me feel. This isn't the normal me!' I screamed. 'I'm not usually paranoid and jealous. I'm usually the one to make fun of crazy jealous girlfriends. But you!' I pointed at him menacingly. 'You do this to me. It's like you're my oxygen supply, I cant breath when you aren't around. I need you, I don't _want_ you, I _need _you, and I hate that. I shouldn't depend on anyone, the only person I should rely on is myself, but whenever you come into my life, it is _you _I need.' I could feel myself coming close to a tearful breakdown. Something I didn't want, but I knew that the tears I was trying to hold back were too powerful to suppress. Finally tears start trickling their way down my cheeks, cascading down my face and falling onto the robe I was wearing. 'Never have I ever doubted myself. I'm always the confident, feisty one. But why whenever I am with you, why do you always make me doubt that I am good enough?'

I just stood there, letting the silence engulf me. I wanted to let my knees buckle and allow myself to crumble to the floor, but I had shown enough weakness for one day, I wasn't going to loose anymore pride. Slowly Dimitri made his way over to me and wrapped his arms around me, carrying me over to the bed. This time I succumbed to his wishes, I didn't have the energy to fight anymore; I was officially emotionally and mentally drained. He sat me so I was on his lap, my face buried in his chest as silent sobs shook my body. 'Shh.' He whispered, rubbing circles in my back soothingly. 'How can you even doubt your worth? I am the one who wakes up every morning wondering what I have done to deserve a second chance at being with such an amazing, beautiful, strong, loving woman like you.' He sounded a bit chocked, so he took a deep breath before he continued, I knew how hard it was for him to talk about his feelings and emotions, so I stayed silent, waiting patiently. 'I have so much to say sorry for. What happened earlier was so wrong. I got carried away, Eleanora and I were one of those will-they-wont-they couples, but we never did get together. She is beautiful and fun, but she is nothing compared to you. I am ashamed for how I acted, and I am even more ashamed to say that it flattered me that she still gives me the attention that she used to when we were younger, and that is why I acted the way I did. It doesn't excuse my behaviour because her flirtation shouldn't have had the effect on me that it did, because why should I be flattered to have attention from her, when someone like you gives it to me? I need you to know, there is no one but you for me. You are it. I can see how much damage I caused you when I left, and I can see now that you blamed yourself for my departure. But you did nothing wrong. It broke me to leave you.'

I sniffed and looked up at him. I hoped that now I had managed to get him talking, he might carry on for a bit, just until he had answered all my questions. 'Why did you do it then? Why did you leave me?' This was the time for answers. I was ready for them, because from tonight's argument, I could see that I wasn't able to put my insecurities and jealousy behind me until I found out everything I needed to know.

'Kirova found out. I don't know how, but she did. She spoke to me three months before graduation. She told me if I left now, and broke things off with you she wouldn't fail you. She didn't trust my monitoring your progress when you and I had had relations out of the mentor-student roles. So she said if I stayed, she would contact the authorities about you being underage and get me arrested and she would either completely expel you, or put you back two years. Do you have any idea of the black mark that would go on your records? There would be no way you would have been able to guard Lissa. I couldn't see that happen to you, not after you worked so hard. So I contacted Tasha. I knew if I needed to go, then I needed to go quickly, because I am selfish enough to admit if I left leaving until I had been assigned a new charge, I may have changed my mind, you would have changed my mind. So I accepted her offer on the guardian job but declined the other offers she presented me with. She may be able to offer me things that you can't, but she can't offer me the most important thing.' I waited in silence. Shocked that it had been Kirova who had put an end to the most important thing in my life. But then again, she was a bitch, so what did I really expect. At the end of the day, she was miserable, so everyone else had to be. 'Tasha wasn't you and she could never give me the love that you can.'

My eyes had dried momentarily, but when he said that, they began to tear up again. 'Without you, there is no life for me. There is just work. You provide the balance. Every time Lissa and Christian would visit Tasha, I kept hoping that you would come with them, but you never did, and that is when I knew I had blown it with you well and truly. Vasilisa always said you had a prier engagement, but I knew you were just trying to avoid me. And I thought there was no going back for us.' He took a deep breath and continued. I don't think, in all the time I have known him, I have ever heard him say so much in one sitting, especially talking so openly about himself. This was a hard topic for both of us and I could see he was struggling with letting down his barriers, even with me. Dimitri was never the one to discuss his own problems; he was the one who would fix other people's. 'I knew there was no getting over you and I should leave you alone, but when Tasha told me about Vasilisa, she told me she thought it best for me to stay behind, because she knew seeing you would most likely cause a seen or something. But I knew you would be hurting, I knew you would be inconsolable, so I had to come, I had to be there for you, because I knew no one else would be. Even after all these years, no one understands each of us better than the two of us do. When I saw you, seeing you just a few months younger than the age I was when I met you, I saw what a strong woman you had become, and I fell in love with you even more. I didn't expect anything to happen between us, but I needed to be with you, even if you were yelling at me like you did at the beginning. I promised you a long time ago that I would always be there for you, and me coming to see you when Lissa was attacked, was my way of fulfilling that promise, even if I had broken it in other ways.'

I laughed at him mentioning my yelling and held onto him tighter. He took this as a good sign and increased the strength of his hold on me.

'When you got attacked by Christian though, and I saw how broken and battered you were, I knew how much I needed to be with you. I loved you more than ever, and I needed to see if there was a chance you would let me be with you. To protect you, to love you, to let you throw things at me when you get angry.' He chuckled at the last bit, knocking the book I had thrown at him off the bed and onto the floor.

I pushed myself up and off of his lap, so I could sit on the bed and look at him. I scrubbed my bloodshot eyes with the back of my hands and looked him straight in the eyes, a smile playing on my lips. 'I don't like Eleanora, she's seems like a bit of a slut.'

He chuckled. 'Why do you think we never got together?'

I bit my lip and giggled. 'Because you would never put out.'

He cocked an eyebrow at me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back down onto the bed, so I was on my back and he was half hovering over me and half propping himself up on his side. 'Well, if that is what you think, I won't make the same mistake with you.' He kissed the hollow of my neck.

He slowly moved so he was completely hovering over me and with one hand he opened up my robe, to reveal me just in my underwear. 'God, have I missed this body.' He murmured to himself as he bent down to kiss my stomach.

I grabbed his face between my hands and pulled it so he was looking directly at me. I needed to clear something up before I let this go any further. 'Promise me you will never leave me.' I know I sounded needy, and I hated that fact, but there was no other way I could completely be put at ease.

'I promise.' He swore before he kissed my lips hungrily.

'Wait, wait, wait.' I said, pulling his face away from mine. I heard him groan in annoyance and frustration; I could see in his eyes that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. 'Just one more thing.' He sighed and looked at me, with hooded lust filled eyes. 'I love you.'

'I love you too.' He replied. Then we finally got what we both wanted. All my worries seemed to melt away under his touch and my insecurities faded away until it was as if I had never experienced them. And after five long, hard years, I finally got my replay of the first night we stayed together in the cabin. I couldn't remember the last time I had generally felt so happy and although I knew we had many problems to face, I was positive if we faced them together, we could pretty much handle anything.


	18. Chapter 18

After Dimitri and I had had our talk and intimate reunion, our trip seemed to fly by. Before we knew it we were bidding goodbye to Olena, Yeva and the rest of the family.

'You promise you will come back and see us soon?' Olena asked as we all stood on the street in front of the house. She pulled me to her and gave me a vice tight hug. 'We are really going to miss you Rose.'

I pulled back from her embrace and squeezed her hand. 'Yes Olena, I promise. Seriously, you're going to actually get sick of me with the amount of time I plan on staying here.' I joked.

I could see it in her eyes how much it pained her to say goodbye to her son, and I could also see the sadness in Dimitri's eyes as he said farewell to his family. I could understand why he missed them so much when he was back home with me. They were as much of an active part in his life as I was.

'And you Dimka.' She said, pointing at him with a threatening look on her face. 'You better ring me more often. I don't hear from you nearly enough.'

He chuckled and pulled her to him. 'Okay Mama. I'll try and call more.'

'Don't worry Olena; I'll make sure he calls.' I said, giving him my best don't-mess-with-me look.

Over his mothers shoulder he smirked at me, before letting her go. Olena squeezed his shoulders and tilted her head in my direction. 'You look after her; you're not going to find anyone else like her Dimka.'

He smiled warmly at me and the glint that shot to his eyes made my stomach do flips. 'I know Mama; I don't intend to let anything happen to my Roza. But to be honest I think it will be her who looks after me, have you ever seen the way she reacts when someone tries to take care of her?' He winked at me, trying to get a reaction.

'There is a difference between taking care of someone and wrapping them up in cotton wool.' I retorted forcefully.

'Rose you should know by now you need to excuse my brother, he tends to go overboard on the whole 'protect the ones you love' thing.' Viktoria said, coming up behind me and wrapping her arm around my shoulder. 'Promise me though, that if he gets out of line, you will kick his ass well and truly, I would love to hear he got his ass handed to him by his much smaller girlfriend.' She giggled, earning herself a glare from Dimitri.

'Don't worry, Dimitri knows what will happen if he steps out of line.' I laughed, cracking my knuckles for emphasis.

Olena and Viktoria broke away from us and Karolina and Sonya made their way over to say goodbye. After Karolina and I had had our little chat, I felt a strong connection to her, like if there was anything I was unsure of, I could go to her. I hugged both of Dimitri's eldest sisters, and then moved out the way so they could have a private moment with Dimitri. I watched as Olena and Viktoria were hugging Rosie, kissing her on the cheek and telling her to look after herself. She nodded to both of them and locked her arms around their necks, trying to secure herself to them forever.

After we had said goodbye to everyone Yeva came outside to see us off. She wasn't a touchy feely person as I had guessed when I first met her, but you could see she had great affection for her grandson and I think she had some kind feelings towards me as well, but with Yeva, you could never really tell. She stood in front of Dimitri and barked something to him in Russian, to which he smiled and bent down to place a soft kiss on her powdery cheek. Then she turned to me and took my hand in her cold, wrinkly one. I was shocked at the fact she was actually touching me and was showing – even if it was small – some sort of public display of affection.

'It was nice to meet you Rose. Watch yourself over the next month, things are going to test both you, and those closest to you.' And with that she dropped my hand and disappeared back into the house before I had chance to ask her what she meant.

Dimitri looked at me worriedly, but chose not to comment, not now anyway. If he thought it was important enough, he would bring it up later, but now probably wasn't the time. We had to focus on getting home now and sorting Lissa out. We could worry about the next obstacles when we got to them.

As we drove away, I turned in my seat to look out the back window, like you see every girl do in sappy movies. I watched the Belikov's standing there, waving us off and I knew that I was going to miss them like crazy, and I also knew that once all this was over with, I was going to make sure Dimitri and I visited them more regularly than he has since he moved to America.

As they disappeared into the background, I switched my attention to Rosie, who was sat, securely in her booster seat, looking aimlessly out of the window. She had had a little bit of a cry this morning before she left; she had become quite attached to Dimitri's family, Olena especially.

It didn't take long to get Mark and Oksana and make our way to the airport, and before I had chance to blink we were sitting on the plane, ready to make our way back home. I was anxious about returning, because everything now was becoming real. We were really trying to get Lissa back to normal, and by doing this, the risk of failing was also becoming a more prominent reality.

Once we were seated on the plane I slipped the ring Oksana had charmed onto the third finger on my right hand, Mark had told me that it would keep my headache away while we flew. And as soon as we were up in the air, I figured out he was right. For the first time in five and a half years, I was sitting in an airplane, thousands of feet up in the air, and I didn't feel like my head was going to explode with the unbearable pressure beating against the inside barrier my skull created.

Dimitri took my hand in his and squeezed it, getting my attention to fall on him. I swivelled in my chair slightly so I could look at him more full on. 'Look. No headache.' I stated, shaking my head from side to side.

He let go of my hand and put a hand either side of my head, stopping me from jiggling it around. 'Although that may seem like the case, I think it would probably be better that you didn't aggravate it by shaking your head like a bobble head.'

I smirked at him and stuck my tongue out at him. He smiled lovingly at me and from somewhere got one of his western novels out. He was so obsessed with them he seemed to produce them now. 'You are kidding me right?' I asked, glaring at him.

'About what?' He asked, opening the book and gluing his eyes to words printed inside. He wore a look of such concentration that it was obvious he was already captivated by the addictive plot.

I pointed at the open book. 'That.'

He closed it slightly, but he left his thumb in between the pages he was on. He took in my un-amused expression and sighed. 'What about my book?'

'You're reading it?'

A light smirk threatened to tilt up the corners of his lips, but he managed to compose himself before his mouth lifted into one of his half smiles. 'Yes Rose, that is what you tend to do with books. What else do you suppose I should do with it?'

'Shove it up your ass.' I snapped, folding my arms and sinking back into my seat. This was the first flight I had been on in years without either passing out or choosing to sleep in order to block out my migraine and he was just going to ignore me and make this the most boring trip I have ever experienced. Typical.

He laughed at my response. He _laughed _at me! I turned my death glare on him but it didn't seem to faze him. He just dropped the book onto his lap and slung his arm casually around my shoulders. I tried to shrug it off but the back of my seat made sure that didn't happen. 'What's up, my little ray of sunshine?'

'I would have thought you would at least keep me company. Rosie is asleep, so she's not going to be much company, Mark and Oksana are in a world of their own. For once I am able to settle on a plane, and be reasonable company and you choose your book over me.' I accused.

He sighed and stood to put the book back into the overhead compartment, then sat back down again. 'Fine. You win. You have my undivided attention. Now what do you want to do?'

'I dunno.' I shrugged. 'Talk?' What kind of a stupid question was that to ask when you were trapped in an aircraft? What did he expect me to do? Want to go shopping. And he's meant to be the sensible one in our relationship.

'And what do you want to talk about?' He asked, raising an eyebrow at me. If he kept doing that when he knew I couldn't, I was going to shave it off the next time he fell asleep. Then we'd see who the smug one was.

'I dunno... stuff.' I shrugged.

'Like?'

'I don't know!' I shrieked. 'What is this, twenty questions?' I was getting aggravated, and I had no idea why. I think it was because I already feared the worst case scenario with Lissa, and like I usually did, I took out my frustrations on the closest person to me, and this time, it was Dimitri.

He was quiet while he took in my question then he smirked, knowing that I was getting pissed off with his constant stream of questioning. 'No, but we can play it if you want. Do you want to play twenty questions?' He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and I could feel the suppressed smile on his lips trying to break free.

I slapped my hands against my legs and scowled at him. 'You know what? I don't know why you ever became a guardian. You should have become a shrink; you seem to have a knack for question asking.' I folded my arms over my chest and turned my gaze somewhere else. 'Just read your damn book, I'll just have to amuse myself.'

'Okay, I will get back to reading my _damn _book.' He stood from his seat and shuffled around in the overhead compartment.

When he sat back down he was holding a pack of cards. 'Want to play?' He asked, pulling down the tray attached to the seat in front of me.

I nodded and took the cards off of him so I could shuffle them. I hadn't played cards in ages, everyone stopped letting me play when they played poker because apparently I 'cheated', it wasn't my fault that none of them could bluff to save their lives, resulting in me winning most of the time.

'Aunt Rose can we play snap?' Rosie chirped sleepily from the side of me.

I smirked and turned my head to look at her. 'Sleeping beauty has arisen.'

She yawned and nodded at me, leaning forward in her seat so that she could reach the tray. And this is how the plane trip went. Rosie won most of the games, but it was because Dimitri and I let her win of course.

I threw the door to my apartment open and dropped my bags on the floor. It was so nice to be back at home, but a part of me also dreaded the fact that this meant there was no more relaxation time for me. This was it; I was back home, back to my responsibilities, back to work.

We made sure Oksana and Mark were settled in next door, and we had all discussed that it would be best to try and heal Lissa tomorrow. I was anxious to try it straight away, but if it was going to work, Oksana needed to be perfectly at rest. I knew it was going to take a lot out of her, as did everyone else, so the least we could do was let her settle in and get some much needed sleep before she used her energy up on Liss.

Rosie had fallen asleep in the car – the plane trip had taken a lot out of her - so I held the door open while Dimitri carried her into her room and laid her on her bed. 'She's a heavy sleeper.' He murmured to me as he left Rosie's room and entered the kitchen where I was making us both a cup of coffee. I knew we were going to have to get back onto moroi time schedules and I thought the best way to do that was to stay up tonight, or today, should I say. But if I were to do that I knew I needed some caffeine in me, and I thought even Dimitri would too. It had been a busy couple of days, and I knew I was completely drained and I would bet a lot that Dimitri was too. 'She reminds me of you.' He chuckled. Lissa had always commented about how Rosie and I were alike in our sleeping patterns.

I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist, tilting my neck so I could look up at him. 'What can I say, I taught her well.'

He chuckled then spotted the mug full of coffee I had made for him. 'Rose, I wish I could stay for coffee, but I've got to go home and unpack. I need to head back to the guardian block.' He sighed, kissing me on the top of my head.

'Dimitri, why are you staying there?' I asked. It made no sense to me that he was staying in one of the temporary guardian housing places. He was here for good now, he needed somewhere permanent.

'I'm just there until I find an apartment to rent. Don't worry, just because I haven't got a place of my own, doesn't mean I'm going to shoot off and leave you high and dry.'

I pulled back from him so I could look at him full on. I think he thought that I had taken some offense at what he had just said because he tried to grab hold of me, but I stepped out of his reach. 'That's not what I was thinking about.' I shook my head and he looked at me with curiosity burning away in his gaze. 'We both know how we feel about each other; we both know that this relationship is as real as it is ever going to get for us. This isn't some fling where we will eventually go our separate ways.'

'Rose, where are you going with this, because you have completely lost me.' He stated, running a hand through his hair, which had mostly fallen out of the rubber band at the back of his head.

'What I'm saying is, why bother getting your own place? We're serious and everything, why not just move in here... with me?' Butterflies commandeered my stomach. Had I really just asked him to move in with me? It was a huge step, but we had been ready for it five years ago, so we were more than ready for it now. The time it was taking him to answer me seemed like years. I felt like I needed to say something, so he wouldn't feel ambushed into living with me. I wanted him to feel like he could have his own space and I wouldn't be pissed at the thought of him needing somewhere where I wasn't present. 'But if you don't want to, or you think it's too soon or something, don't worry.' He still stood in silence, staring at me, completely expressionless. I knew I shouldn't have asked. 'Forget I asked, you're not ready, I completely understand.'

I started to walk past him and out of the kitchen, completely forgetting about my coffee. I didn't want to stay there and make this awkward for both of us, so vacating into the living room was probably the best idea. Just as I hit the door a hand grabbed my arm and spun me so I came face to face with Dimitri. Before I had chance to utter a word his lips crashed into mine, hard and urgent. I'm hoping this was a good sign. His arms snaked around my waist, holding me fiercely and possessively to him. He broke the kiss after what only seemed like a second or two. 'Do you mean it? Are you sure you want us to live together?'

'I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't sure. I may be reckless, but I'm not stupid enough to rush into anything that could jeopardise what we have.' I stated.

He smiled lovingly at me and pushed my hair out of my face which had landed there when he grabbed me. 'Then in that case, I would love to live with you.'

'Glad to hear it comrade.' I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me. 'Now there is no need for you to go and unpack in your room is there.' He replaced his arms around my waist and I could see the desire mounting up behind his cool exterior. 'I think that now would be the time to rechristened my bedroom as ours, don't you?'

Not giving me the opportunity to see his response, he threw my over his shoulder and ran towards my... _our _bedroom. I squealed at the speed of his movements and my breath was knocked out of me when my stomach hit his solid shoulder. I had never seen Dimitri move so fast, even when killing strigoi. It was flattering to know how much he wanted me, and it was even more thrilling to know that I could probably bribe him by using my body, to get him to do things for me for the rest of our lives now that he was stuck with me pretty much twenty-four-seven. Him living with me was definitely going to be fun.


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews; I'm so glad you like the story. This is the chapter where they try and wake Lissa up. Will she wake? Hmm... I guess you're just gonna have to read to find out.**

Dimitri drifted off just before sunrise. He looked so peaceful and innocent when he slept, it was hard to believe looking at him now, that he was probably one of the most deadly guardians you could find. I fidgeted on my side of the bed, trying to get comfy and attempting to fall asleep, but it seemed my tiredness had evaded me and all I felt now was the hyper urge to be up and doing things. I think I had hit the point of becoming overtired and therefore couldn't muster the relaxation needed in order to drift off.

I realised just lying in bed wasn't going to help me, so I jumped out; I needed to do something in order to tire myself out more. I had been dead on my feet earlier, but now I was more awake than I had been in ages. I threw on some jeans and a tank top, and made my way into the kitchen. I ripped a post it note off the fridge and scribbled on it.

_Can't sleep, if I'm not here when you wake up, I've just popped out._

_Love R xx_

Then I went back into the bedroom and picked up the pants Dimitri had been wearing yesterday and ruffled through the pockets. I found his keys in the front left one and with that I left my apartment.

I was hoping that Dimitri and Rosie would remain asleep during my absence, because I wasn't planning on being long, but just in case they did wake, I wanted them to know I was perfectly fine and hadn't randomly disappeared.

It was an overcast day and the sun was masked behind a swarm of angry looking clouds. Despite the unpromising weather, the temperature was pleasant. It wasn't so hot that it was uncomfortable, and it wasn't so cold it made me want to stay inside with a mug of hot chocolate and the fire blazing. It was just right.

I soon found myself at the guardian block Dimitri had been staying in when he had just arrived. I thought it would be a nice surprise for him to wake up and find all his belongings in his new home. Our home. I went straight to his closet and pulled out two large suitcases and went to work packing everything I could get my hands on. Just as I had finished boxing his western novels, which I knew he wouldn't want left behind, I heard a knock at the front door and then it creak open. I turned around to greet Dimitri, thinking it was him who had come, but the smile I was presenting for him suddenly fell when I saw Tasha in front of me.

'Rose, what are you doing here?' She asked. She was dressed in her pyjamas, like she had just got out of bed to come and see Dimitri. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she wore no make up. She looked tired.

I shifted my weight evenly between my feet and folded my arms over my chest, glaring at her menacingly. I had not expected to bump into her here, and after her trying to take Rosie from me, I didn't trust myself to be alone with her without smashing her face in. 'I could ask you the same question.'

'I came to see Dimitri.' She stated the obvious. 'Where is he?'

Not that I wanted to answer her questions, or thought that she deserved an answer, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to rub mine and Dimitri's rekindled relationship in her face. I knew she still liked him, loved him even, but he had chosen me. 'He's at home.' I said simply, turning around and picking up the suitcases and boxes.

Her eyes widened when she saw the luggage. 'He stayed in Russia?' I could see the anguish in her face, although I hated the woman, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. Loosing Dimitri was one of the most painful things that have ever happened to me, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Tasha didn't love Dimitri as much as I did, because I don't think anyone in the world could love their other half with the intensity and passion that I love mine with, but I could see in her own way there was love there that she wished him to accept.

'No, he's not in Russia.' I shook my head. I thought I would enjoy flaunting Dimitri's and my new living arrangements, but now I just felt petty. There was no need to rub in her face that I had finally got the man we had both been fighting for. When I was younger, this was the sort of thing I lived for, but now I saw it was extremely low. I had already won this fight; there was no point in being sour about it.

'Where is he then? He's my guardian; I have a right to know.' She demanded. I wasn't going to be the one to tell her that soon enough Dimitri wouldn't be her guardian anymore, so I just left it and thought the truth was probably the best. But her taking on that tone with me was not softening me into talking nicely in her favour.

'He's at my place.' I replied. I could see her brain ticking, trying to figure out why he was there, but she didn't connect the dots.

'Why is he there, I thought you said he was at home.' She snapped.

'Tasha, Dimitri _is_ at home. We live together now.' There was no need to add that this arrangement had only occurred as of last night. I saw her face drop and anger light up her eyes. This was not what she had been expecting and I could tell she was not going to handle this well.

'You two are back together?' No shit, we just live together for the sake of it because we thought it would be a laugh. What did she expect?

'Yes.' I replied, making sure I had everything by doing a quick sweep of the room, before heading to the door. I held it open for her and looked at it pointedly. 'And if you don't mind, I have to be getting back to him.'

She nodded, looking like she might actually be going into submission... yeah, and I should be so lucky. She walked towards me, heading for the door, but before I had time to register what she was doing, she knocked my hand off the wood and slammed the door powerfully against the frame. 'You have to take everything from me don't you?' She yelled, standing about a foot away from me but leaning so she was as much in my face as possible. I knew why she wasn't practically standing on me, she knew I would react, and least if she was a bit further away form me, she had more of a chance of dodging my hit. However, lucky for her I wasn't going to degrade myself by lowering to her level. For this confrontation, I would keep my temper in check as much as possible.

I cleared my throat, dropped Dimitri's things on the floor and crossed my arms, glaring at her threateningly. 'If we are talking about Dimitri, then he was never yours to be taken from.' I tried to keep my voice as level as possible, but I knew that if she pushed me I was seriously going to loose it as much as I tried to talk myself into being the bigger person and not giving in to my angry temptation.

'Oh and that's what he told you is it?' She sniggered. I nodded and she smirked. 'And you believed him?' I knew exactly what she was doing; she was trying to break my faith in Dimitri. But this time, I wasn't going to fall for anything anyone told me. We both vowed that we would tell each other the truth, no matter how embarrassing, hard or uncomfortable and I knew that is exactly what he had done with me. Tasha was just shit stirring.

'Yes, I believe him.' I replied, steadily. I looked her straight in the eye so I knew she knew that I meant business.

'Then you are a fool.' She snapped.

I couldn't help myself, I burst out laughing. I mean come on, who says things like that? Her strong attempts to get me and Dimitri separated were feeble, but you could see she was trying so hard. I shook my head at her trying to calm down. 'No, I would be a fool if I believed the bullshit you have just tried to serve me.' I reopened the door. 'Now, I have had enough of you for one day, so I'm leaving, and you are too.'

'You can't order me around.'

'That's funny, because I believe I just did.' I smirked. Oh seeing her loose was actually becoming really fun.

'You know you can't win this.' She stated, still not moving towards the door.

I sighed, picking up Dimitri's stuff and walking out the door. 'Win what Tasha, because you have completely lost me, I don't have a clue what is going on in that crazy messed up head of yours.'

'You can't take everything from me!' She screamed randomly. It was fun at the beginning to piss her off, but I was getting seriously bored now. Where the hell was she coming from? It was like she was on a different wavelength to every other rational thinker.

'I haven't taken anything from you, nor would I want to.'

'You took Dimitri and you've taken Rosie.' She whispered, seeing that raising her voice wasn't going to get her anywhere.

I sighed and looked her straight in the eyes. 'If I remember rightly, it was _you _who was trying to take Rosie from me, and with Dimitri... I repeat, he was never yours to be taken from. He made it perfectly clear he was your guardian, and nothing else.'

She huffed and stormed out the room, shooting down the hall as fast as she could. Huh, and I thought seeing her again would be uneventful, my mistake. I should know by now, never underestimate an Ozera.

On the way to the infirmary I held onto Dimitri's hand with such a tight grasp, I was surprised I didn't break any of his fingers. Today had been the day I had been waiting for since I found out about her condition and now that it was here, determination to fix this situation started to fade out of me, and fear and anxiety over possibly finding out I have lost my best friend for good was taking its place.

'Rose, everything is going to be okay.' Dimitri murmured reassuringly in my ear. I was glad I had him with me to hold my hand and be there as my pillar of strength, but for the first time ever, I found no comfort in his words. The situation was too much, too unpredictable to make even Dimitri sound one hundred percent right.

'I appreciate you saying that Comrade, but even you can't be one hundred percent sure on this topic.' I replied, coming to a stop outside Lissa's room.

'She's strong Rose, she'll come out of this. And I don't think even Lissa would risk getting on your bad side by not waking up.' He turned to me and grinned. He was trying to tease me, to get a reaction and take my mind off my present problems, and most days that would have worked, but today... not so much.

I nodded at him, because what else could I really do? There was no response or expression that I could use to describe the nerves that were bubbling away under my skin. In a way I wanted to get this over and done with. The best way to get today going was to do everything like a band aid. Just rip, and don't think. If I over thought things today, there was no way I was going to be able to function properly and Lissa needed me today. I had to have enough strength for the both of us.

Dimitri pressed his palms against the door and glanced at me. 'Ready?'

I nodded. 'Ready.' He pushed the door and it slowly swung open.

When we entered, I was greeted by the scene unfolding before me. Oksana was stood over the bed, looking intently at Lissa, as if assessing the situation and looking for all possible angels to attack it from. Mark was sat, watching intently as his wife took in everything. I was almost positive Mark was checking things through the bond as well. I know if it had been Lissa, I would have been. There would be no way I would let her do this all alone, especially since I knew what spirit did to her when she used it excessively or too powerfully. Then my attention was caught by the tall blonde male, leaning casually against the white plastered wall.

'Adrian!' I called. His attention had been elsewhere when I entered, but as soon as I said his name, his full attention was thrown at me and he started heading towards me, arms spread wide.

'Little Dhampir, come here and give me a hug, I sure have missed your radiance these last few days.' He cooed. I could tell he had already had a bit to drink, but then again, it was Adrian, what did I expect?

I smacked him on the arm playfully, and then allowed him to envelop me in one of his huge hugs. 'You might want to hold back on the flirting, my boyfriend is stood right over there.' I pointed at Dimitri. 'And he is extremely possessive when it comes to me and I'm pretty sure he could break you with a snap of his wrist.'

Adrian looked over at Dimitri who nodded slowly, trying to mask the smile that was dancing on the edge of his lips. Then Adrian leant down to place his mouth to my ear. 'Call me when you've lost the body guard.'

Dimitri walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. Securing me to his side. 'I heard that Ivashkov.'

'What can I say? She wants me.' Adrian shrugged earning a smack on the back of the head from Dimitri.

'In your dreams Adrian.' I chuckled. Then I stopped and thought for a second. 'On second thought, forget about the whole dream thing, that probably isn't safe territory, you'll take everything I say as an invitation.' I couldn't have that, and I couldn't be bothered to get into a debate with him again on whether I wanted him in my dreams or not.

Oksana made her way over to us, smiling warmly. 'Sorry to interrupt you're... conversation, but I really think we should start trying to sort out Lissa.'

Suddenly all light hearted banter was gone and we were all replaced with seriousness. This was the moment of truth, crunch time. Our answers would finally be answered, one way or another.

'Tell us what to do and we'll do it.' I said.

Oksana nodded and turned to Adrian first. 'Adrian I want you to help me. I know this isn't your strong point with spirit, but every little helps.' She pointed at me. 'Rose, go sit on the couch and switch off to the bond, you will be the first person able to tell us if my spirit is being received.' Then finally she looked at Dimitri. 'Dimitri, I just want you to sit with Rose and tell me if she is infiltrating any of spirits darkness okay?'

We all resumed our positions, doing exactly what we had been told to do by Oksana. Oksana and Adrian stood either side of Lissa, both holding one of her pale thin hands. Mark was stood by Oksana, keeping an eye on her, and I think monitoring her through their own bond. I sat on the edge of the couch, ready to jump into action at any second should I be needed and Dimitri had his hand on mine, squeezing reassuringly.

I watched as Oksana closed her eyes and took that as my signal to get lost in Lissa. First of all I was engulfed by darkness, nothing but the blackness of the cold dark void where her thoughts and life used to be, then suddenly, I felt light and gold shoot through into her. It was warm and sweet and strong, and I would recognise what it was from anywhere because I had experienced it when Lissa used it.

'Oksana, I can feel the spirit.' I whispered, not wanting to raise my voice in case I scared it away.

I started to feel Lissa's presence in her head more and more, she was there, and she wasn't gone any more. She was with me once more. Flashes of the attack, Christian getting taken, protecting her from harms way, Rosie the morning before they left. It all came flooding back to her. Suddenly she gasped and opened her eyes to see the ceiling above all of us.

'Rose!'


	20. Chapter 20

I shot up from where I was sitting and darted over to Lissa. She was awake, lying motionlessly on the bed, her blonde hair fanned out underneath her and her green eyes staring directly upwards.

'Liss, I'm right here.' I said, leaning over the bed so I was positioned in her line of vision, and taking the hand of hers that Adrian was holding off of him and into my own.

Lissa's eyes darted over to me. They were filled with dread and hurt and I knew from the bond that she was still going over everything that had happened. I flinched as I saw what she was about to ask me. 'Rose, where is Christian?'

I smiled warmly at her, but even I could feel the sadness in that smile, and knew she must be seeing it as well. I tried to look her in the eye, but what I had to tell her was going to cause so much suffering and pain, I couldn't hold her gaze. I squeezed her hand gently. 'Lissa, I don't think we should talk about this right now, why don't you wait till your more yourself?'

I knew she wasn't going to let it the matter drop, I knew if roles were reversed and it was Dimitri and I that this had happened to, I wouldn't let it drop either. I took a deep breath and waited for her response.

'Rose, stop with the whole protecting me thing. I think I know what has happened already, but I need you to tell me that I am mistaken, that what I think happened didn't happen.' Tears were starting to pool in her green eyes making them look shallow and glassy.

Dimitri walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. 'Princess, I really think you need to listen to Rose on this one. Your body has already been through so much, you don't need anymore stress. Why don't you rest and then tomorrow Rose will talk to you.' I liked the reasonability Dimitri had presented in his manner and voice and I thought for a second the shock of seeing Dimitri would temporarily distract her from the matter at hand, but I had no such luck. She did a slight double take at the sight of Dimitri, but then she went back to looking at me.

'Rose, tell me now.' She demanded. She didn't have the energy to do anything other than raise her voice, but just by her tone I knew she wasn't messing around, and no matter what situation she was actually in, she wasn't going to back down until she knew what was happening.

I looked up at Oksana, remembering that there were more than just three of us in the room. Oksana nodded and let go of Lissa's hand, not that Lissa noticed. 'We'll give you some privacy. Mark, maybe we should go get some coffee, I need an energy boost. Adrian, are you coming or staying?'

Adrian looked at me, his face etched with concern and dread. We had all been so happy and excited at the prospect of getting our friend back, but having to tell her what had taken place almost made me wish she hadn't woken up until I had found a solution to fix everything.

Adrian turned his attention to Oksana. 'I think I'll stay here.'

Oksana nodded and both her and Mark vacated the room. I was glad that she understood we needed privacy, and we weren't just being awkward with her. Later hopefully Lissa and Oksana will talk about the spirit use that has taken place. It will do Lissa good to open her mind more to the possibilities. Obviously though, now wasn't the time.

Adrian and Dimitri both took their seats on the couch, staying in the room but being discreet and allowing me and Lissa some space so that I could break the news that would shatter her whole world. I pressed the button on the side of the bed so that it slowly rearranged itself into the sitting position, then when Lissa was sat up; I knew it was time to begin.

I was finding it hard to find the words, I knew what I needed to tell her, but the words weren't coming easily. Never had I ever thought I would have to be the one that would have to deliver the heartbreaking words that would shatter my best friend's world forever. 'I don't know where to start.' I admitted.

'Rose Hathaway, at a loss for words. Never thought I'd see the day. I bet you didn't either, eh Lissa.' Adrian joked, but Lissa just stared at him, her eyes devoid of any emotion. Adrian cleared his throat and looked away from her. 'Sorry, not the right time for jokes is it?'

I heard Dimitri mutter something to him, probably telling him what an idiot he is or something and then I heard Adrian's voice pick up a bit louder than Dimitri's. 'I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit.'

I ignored the two men sitting behind me and focused my attention on Lissa. I swept some hair from her face and smiled softly and sympathetically at her. 'Lissa, I'm really sorry that I have to be the one to say this to you and I'm really sorry that this has to be said at all.' I took a deep breath and bit back the prickling tears that were threatening to make themselves know. 'Christian is gone, Liss.'

I heard her breathing hitch, then the tears I had seen pooling in her eyes earlier cascaded down her face like a delicate waterfall. 'How long ago was this? How long have I been out?'

'About two weeks.' I whispered, trying not to look at the pain emanating from her gaze.

She took a deep breath trying to steady herself. 'Did he die instantly, or was it painful? Where is his body being kept? Will I be able to see him before the funeral?'

I was surprised at the string of questions she was reeling off at me. I would have thought she would have been bent over, consumed by gut wrenching sobs by now. I know I would have been. Who would have thought Lissa would be more level headed than me in this sort of situation? I replayed her words in my head quickly and then it hit me. _'Did he die instantly, or was it painful? Where is his body being kept? Will I be able to see him before the funeral?' _

'Lissa honey, There is no body.' I whispered, hating myself for having to say this to her.

Her whole framed stilled and she stared at me, understanding beginning to light up in her mind. She shook her head and tried backing away from me as if I were the one who inflicted this terrible tragedy on her. 'No.' she mouthed, her voice not carrying out even the small distance between us. Her bottom lip began to tremble. 'No.' she repeated, but this time managing to make herself heard. 'Rose, please, _please, _tell me that you're not trying to tell me that he has been... been... turned.' She pleaded.

I couldn't help myself this time, this was too much even for me to handle. A few rebellious tears broke free from my control and slipped down my face, telling Lissa all that I could not. From the expression on my face she knew her worst fears had come true. The love of her life had been taken from her and turned into something so evil, so cold, and so unnatural. 'Lissa, I am so sorry.' I don't know why I was apologizing; the words were so empty and worthless. Nothing I said would take this agony away from her, nothing I said would change what has happened. Nothing I said would make this right. I would never be able to fully fix this for her, and that thought alone just about killed me.

I moved so I was sitting next to her on the hospital bed, and I threw my arms around her, just as she buried her face into my neck and was overcome with violent, shaking, sobs that wracked her whole frame to her very core. 'Rose, what am I going to do?' She cried.

I stroked her hair and made soothing noises, tracing circles in her back until her sobs died down and they were shallow gasps. I cleared my throat and leant in so I could whisper into her ear. 'First of all, you need to be strong. You need to brave for Rosie's sake.'

She shot away from me, staring at me with blood shot eyes, filled with terror and regret. 'Rosie?'

I nodded and smiled at her. 'Yeah, she has really missed her momma. She's been asking for you non stop, she can't wait to see you awake.' I thought this would inspire Lissa to try and find the courage to get past this for the time being, to attempt to pull herself together, but I was so wrong.

'I can't see her. Rose, you do not bring her to me.' She warned, still backing away from me as far as she could on the single cot bed.

I looked at Dimitri worriedly, hoping he might be able to help me out here and give me some idea what was going on, he was extremely observant in these cases, and he could usually cotton on to what I couldn't, with what was going through peoples minds. But his expression told me he was just as baffled by this warning as I was.

'Lissa, what are you talking about? Why can't you see her?' I asked, removing myself from the bed as I watched Lissa still try and move away from me.

Lissa ignored my question. 'Has she been staying with you?'

I nodded.

'Right, well she is to stay there. I don't want to see her, I can't see her. Not under the circumstances, I need to be alone. I need to grieve.' She murmured. Looking so scared and vulnerable that it made me almost not want to find out why she was suddenly like this towards her only child.

'Lissa, what do you mean you don't want to see her, she is your daughter. You have a duty as her mother to be there for her, to look after her.' I said reasonably.

'I can't have her with me. I need to get through this alone; I don't want to have to worry about a child. I've just lost my husband, I need to mourn.'

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that this was a difficult situation and that I shouldn't loose my temper with my best friend (who I had only just got back) just because she needed some time alone. 'Okay, I will keep her away until you go home, then she can see you.'

'No Rose, you don't get it.' Lissa snapped. 'I don't want to see her, not for a while. I don't want her here, I don't want her with me when I get home, and I don't want her with me at all at the moment.'

Adrian stood from his seat and made his way over to us. He placed a hand on Lissa's shoulder. 'Lissa be reasonable. You have a three year old daughter who has just lost her daddy and almost lost her momma. You have to be there for her, you have to be there for each other.'

She glared at him. 'You don't get it, you will never understand.' She turned to me, her eyes pleading. 'Rose, please keep her, keep her safe, and look after her for me. You will be a much better mother to her than I ever could.'

Wow, this was taking a very unexpected turn, it sounded like Lissa had just handed her child over to me for permanent keep. What the hell was happening? I tried to read her through the bond but she was blocking me, purposefully not thinking about what was winding her up, there was something she was ashamed at me seeing. There was something she was ashamed of admitting even to herself. 'Lissa, that little girl needs you.' I reasoned.

'Well I don't need her. How can I even look at her?' She took a deep breath and I stood still as I watched the tears begin the build all over again. 'I am her mother; I am supposed to love her unconditionally. I am meant to be there no matter what. But when I think of seeing the little girl I loved so much all I can feel is dread. I am in so much pain right now I can't even think straight. I can't breathe without Christian here. Thinking about him, talking about him, even saying his name cuts me so deeply I feel like I am having the life sucked out of me. So how am I supposed to look at that little girl who is half him? Who looks so much like him? How am I meant to cope, when every time I look at her, I will be seeing all that I have lost? I can't live like that. I can't look at my daughter everyday and feel the agony I am in now.'

Understanding dawned on everybody's face in the room. Although what Lissa was saying about not wanting to see her own child was still to me, unthinkable, I could see where she was coming from. But this is where I was to come in. I was here to talk sense into her, make her see that Rosie's similarities to her father are a gift, not a curse. 'Lissa, I know this is hard, but Rosie is the only thing you have left of Christian, she is there so a part of him will always be with you.' I took a deep breath. 'I know loosing your husband is hard but-'

She cut me off. 'What would you know about how I am feeling? How do you know anything about loosing the love of you life?'

I looked over at Dimitri, remembering the pain I experienced when he left me. 'Lissa, when Dimitri left I felt the same as you. I was hurt, scared, and alone. But I got through it and so will you.' I assured her.

She pointed at Dimitri and glared at me. 'You are comparing him leaving you, to me loosing my husband? He was taken from me Rose. Christian was taken from me. He wasn't supposed to get turned. He had no choice; he didn't choose to leave me.'

'And having someone choose to leave you is so much better is it?' I snapped, instantly regretting my harsh tone once it had left my lips. 'Look Liss, I'm sorry, I don't want to argue. But all I am saying is, that little girl is your only reason to get up in the morning at the moment, you should be thankful that you were lucky enough to have a child with Christian, so that you will always have part of him with you. Some people aren't so lucky. Yes, you lost someone you loved dearly, but pushing away the only direct line to him isn't going to help you, if anything you are severing the only connection you have to him and eventually you will just end up completely alone.'

Lissa dropped her head in her hands and her whole body shook with heartbroken sobs. 'I don't know how I am supposed to deal with this Rose! Tell me what to do.'

I climbed back on the bed with her and wrapped my arms around her. 'This isn't something you can just sort out Liss; it is going to take a lot of time. But the best thing you can do now is surround yourself with the people who love you and bit by bit, things will start to get easier.'

'Rose? Have you... do you know... Christian? Have you heard from him, or have there been sightings?'

This was exactly the question I didn't want her to ask. I hadn't wanted to add anymore unneeded stress to the situation, but since she had asked I couldn't lie to her.

'Yes, I have seen him. When you are home and better, I will explain more, but lets just say me and him had a run in.' I said, biting my lip and shuddering at the memory.

'What... what do you mean you had a run in?' She stammered.

Dimitri took this question and joined us on the bed; he perched on the side of her bed, down near her feet, careful not to jostle her. 'Christian ambushed Rose while Rose and I were at the mall.'

'And you didn't kill him?' Lissa asked uncertainly. There was a part of her that wished I had killed him, but there was another part that felt sick of the thought of him being completely wiped off the face of the earth. She felt disgusted with the second thought, and she couldn't explain why she felt that way, but there was part of her that thought since he was still semi-alive, what had been done to him could be undone.

Dimitri lifted the bottom of my shirt up to show Lissa the wound that was still bandaged. 'He got one up on Rose.' I saw Lissa's distressed expression and slapped Dimitri's hand away and pulled my top down; she didn't need anything more to worry about.

'Any excuse undressing me Comrade.' I joked, smirking at Lissa. 'Liss it is no big deal, I wasn't even badly hurt, I was just caught off guard. I didn't even realise what had happened.' I lied, trying to protect her from anymore stress.

'Rose, I could heal you.' She offered, slowly moving her hand over to my bandaged torso.

I grabbed her wrist and shook my head sternly. 'No. You need to concentrate on getting yourself better. No spirit use for a while okay? You don't need anything to mess with your frame of mind.'

She smiled at me. It wasn't a genuine smile, but it was the best I was going to get under the circumstances. Now all the heavy stuff was over, I felt a smile creep onto my face. I had finally got my best friend back. I know I hadn't been without her for very long, but to have no connection with her for two weeks was almost like torture. Lissa was back! She might be broken and need a lot of love and care, but she was here, talking to me, trying to look after me. And that was good enough for me at the moment.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall and sighed. I needed to think about leaving, Eddie had been looking after Rosie and I needed to go pick her up from him and give her some dinner and get her ready for bed.

'Liss, I know you need me, but I need to go pick up Rosie, are you gonna be okay with Adrian? He is going to stay with you tonight.' She nodded and smiled at Adrian. 'Eddie is gonna pop in and see you too, he's missed you just as much as the rest of us.'

Dimitri and I got up from the bed and I gave Lissa a huge hug before making my way to the door. I turned to say goodbye one last time, but she spoke first.

'Are you two back together?' She asked motioning with her head between me and Dimitri.

'Yeah, we are.' I took Dimitri's hand in mine. I wasn't going to tell Lissa about our reunion until she had gotten over the shock of loosing Christina a bit more, it just seemed a bit insensitive to be flaunting our rekindled romance when hers had been snatched from her, but I could feel from the bond, she was happy for us.

'Look after each other and appreciated that you have found your true other half. You never know when your time is up.' She whispered sadly.

'We will Liss.' I promised. I turned the knob on the door and just as I was about to step out Lissa called my attention back again.

'And Rose? Bring my little girl in to see me tomorrow. I think she needs some time with her momma.' She smiled.


	21. Chapter 21

It had been a busy day to say the least and I knew it was no where near over. When you were the carer of a young energetic infant, you never have the luxury to just chill out until that infant is dead to the world in a deep, deep sleep.

'So Momma is really awake?' Rosie asked, wolfing down her spaghetti like she hadn't eaten in days.

'Yes Rosie, for the billionth time, your momma is really awake.' I reassured her. I'm sure she thought this was a dream. I know I still have to pinch myself to make sure this isn't just an illusion created by treacherous sleep. I was still positive that any second I was going to wake up Lissa-less and Dimitri-less.

'Did she ask for me?' Rosie questioned, leaning so far over the table to look at me that her hair was dangling in the spaghetti sauce, turning it an orangey-red.

I leant forward like her and scooped her hair out of her dinner. Now when it was bath time it meant I had to wash her hair as well, great. 'Yes she asked for you. She wants you to go see her tomorrow.'

The door bell went, ringing loudly twice before returning to silence. I didn't move and neither did Rosie, both of us too engrossed in our conversation to get up and answer the door.

'I'll get it I guess.' Dimitri volunteered, removing himself from one of the dining room chairs and making his way to the front of the house.

'So, do you want to go see your momma tomorrow?' I asked, taking Rosie's now empty plate over to the sink and swilling the sauce off before putting it in the dishwasher.

'Am I allowed?' She bounced up and down on her chair excitedly, like her birthday had come early, or she had just been told she was going to Disney world for the week.

'Of course you're allowed, you saw in hospital last week, why wouldn't you be allowed now?'

'I dunno.' She had a thoughtful expression on her face for a while until her features broke out into a smile and she asked excitedly. 'Do you think momma would like it if I drew a picture for her?'

'Yeah, I'm sure she would love it.' I answered, my heart warming at the excitement being projected by this one little girl. She was like a beacon of happiness and it was great to finally see. She was too young to have to put up with the events that have taken place recently in her life and it was good to see that now with Lissa back, she was happy and may get back to some sort of reality.

Rosie scuttled off to her room to retrieve some paper and colouring pens, and in her absence I realised that Dimitri was still at the door. He was taking his time. Thinking about this, my curiosity was peaked and I really wanted to see who was at the door.

'Dimitri, who is it?' I called as I wondered down the hallway to the front door.

As I arrived to where he was stood, I realised why he had taken such a long time.

'Tasha.' I greeted with a civil bob of my head. If she thought I was going to be all pally-pally with her after the yesterday, she had another thing coming.

'Rose.' She replied coldly. Then she turned back to Dimitri who was looking slightly weary. His gorgeous brown eyes had lost their spark, telling me that he had been having this conversation for too long and it was really trying his patience.

'Sorry Tasha, but at the risk of sounding rude.' Then again that has never stopped me before. 'Why are you here?' Instead of beating around the bush, I thought it would be best and just come right out and ask her, there is no point trying to sound welcoming when to be honest, I don't want to welcome her into my home – mine and Dimitri's home.

'I came to ask Dimitri when he was coming back to his guardian duties.' She replied sweetly, doing the whole butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth charade for Dimitri.

I sighed; this really was beginning to look desperate. He's just moved in with his girlfriend, being at a time of his life where he couldn't be happier, and she comes in doing the jealous other party, trying to fight for a man who was never hers to begin with. You would have thought she would have been more concerned about keeping what little dignity she had left after this trip.

'Tasha, I told you Dimitri wasn't coming back to his position. He's staying here now.' I said sharply, not bothering to come across nice anymore, because to be honest, I just didn't care what she thought about me, I had what she wanted and there was not a damn thing she could do about it.

'Yes, but it wasn't your place to tell me, Dimitri is the one who needs to inform me of _his _intentions. After all it is he who is guarding me, not you.' She stated smugly, thinking this might win her a few points by being rational.

I was about to say something but Dimitri beat me to it. 'I confirm that what Rose told you is the truth, I am resigning as your guardian. There, now with that finished, I need to go finish my dinner. Bye Tasha.'

He began to shut the door but she put her foot in the way to stop it. 'Wait, wait. I heard something today; I want to know if it is true.' She whispered her voice barely loud enough for us to pick up.

I sighed. 'Fine, I'll bite. What did you hear?' I folded my arms across my chest and leant into Dimitri impatiently, too tired to stand up without support anymore.

'I heard that Lissa woke up today... is it true?' Her face portrayed someone who was actually concerned with the wellbeing of their family, even if it was only family by marriage. Usually I wouldn't buy her games, but with this, I could tell it wasn't a game, she generally wanted to know about Lissa, and to be fair, considering this involved her great-niece; she had a right to know.

'Yes Lissa woke up.' I confirmed, letting no emotion leak into my voice.

'And how is she?'

'As well as can be expected.' Dimitri replied, putting an arm around my shoulders and squeezing gently.

'Did you tell her about Christian?' She asked her voice quivering as she mentioned her nephew's name.

I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the grown up act I was about to commit. 'Tasha, if you swear to me, no funny business, and you'll be respectful and polite in _our _home, then I will invite you in so we can fill you in on what has happened. Rosie is inside drawing Lissa a picture, I'm sure she'd like to see you.'

Tasha looked at me with the first genuine nice look I had seen since she returned and with that I knew she was respecting that this was a big thing for me to do and took a lot for me to allow, and with that look, I knew she was going to behave herself. Just for tonight at least. 'I swear.'

Once we had all settled in the living room, Rosie included – as soon as she saw Tasha, she gave her a huge hug and brought her colouring stuff from the dining room, into the living room, leaning on the coffee table to draw – I filled Tasha in on the day's events.

'Yeah, so we told her everything except that Christian and Karp are after her and Rosie. I will tell her, but not until she is home, she doesn't need anymore stress, and anyway, she is safe here at court, they can't get to her or Rosie.'

'So when Lissa goes home is Rosie going with her?' Tasha asked, stroking the top of Rosie's dark locks.

'We don't know yet. If Lissa is up to it then yes, but if not, she will stay with us until Lissa is better and feels she can cope.' I replied, smiling down at my dazzling goddaughter as if she were the most important thing in the whole world.

'Well, I can move in with Lissa and look after her and Rosie.' Tasha volunteered, not wasting an opportunity to get her hands on the little girl.

'You can suggest it to her' even though I know she wont accept your offer, I tagged on mentally 'but if she doesn't want Rosie home right away I think it will be because she wants to be alone in the place her and Christian lived. It is a lot to come to terms with and she needs time to adjust to the new situation.'

'But surely it's not best to keep mother and daughter apart.' Tasha argued.

'If they are kept apart it will be through no choice of ours' Dimitri said sternly. 'And anyway we are not the ones who should dictate what happens. This is Lissa's choice and Lissa's alone.'

Ah my personal voice of reason. I also didn't miss the fact that he called Liss, Lissa. Thank god he was finally loosening with the whole formality thing when it came to royals.

'Is it possible to see Lissa?'

'Only if you don't mention anything about Christian and his new conquest. She doesn't need to hear that right now and you don't force her into anything she doesn't feel ready to do, even if that means Rosie staying with us for a while longer.'

'Okay, fine.' She stood as if she was itching to go and so something. 'I'm going to head over there now then.' Tasha said, kissing Rosie on the top of her head and making her way to the door.

'Tasha, it is almost sunrise, wouldn't it be better if you wait till later?' Dimitri asked, following her out of the room.

'A little bit of sun isn't going to hurt and it wont get to me too much considering how close Lissa is to where I am staying.' She shrugged.

'Fine, but if she is asleep, don't wake her up.' I warned. The last thing I needed was an overtired hysterical Lissa to look after.

'I won't.' She called, walking out the front door.

'I'm calling Adrian to make sure he knows not to let you anywhere near her if she is asleep.' I yelled after her.

She just waved over her shoulder and I knew me and Tasha would be back to arguing and contending with each other as soon as we saw each other again.

'That was very big of you, you know?' Dimitri whispered, closing the door and wrapping his arms around my waist.

'I know, what can I say, I'm a good person.' I sighed, as if it were hard work being the way I am.

'You acted very mature Roza, I'm proud of you.'

'Don't get too excited yet, I think that is all my maturity used up for the next year.' I laughed, untangling myself from him and going back into the living room in search of my goddaughter.

When I saw her, she let out a big yawn and rubbed her eyes with her hands harshly; transferring any ink she had on them, onto her once clean face. Lovely. 'Bath time now miss, then bed.' I said, grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her onto my hip.

'Aunt Rose.' She argued. 'Cant I have ten more minutes?'

'Nope.'

'Five minutes then?'

'Nope.'

'One?'

I stopped and pretended to think about it for a second. 'Hmm... Nope.' She scowled and folded her arms over her chest stubbornly. If she was on the floor I'm betting she would have stomped her feet as well and done the whole brat attack act.

Dimitri walked over to us and bent down so he was on her eye level, which was pretty much my eye level since I was carrying her. 'I tell you what Rosie. If you go and have a bath and get ready for bed as quickly as you can, without giving Aunt Rose any trouble, then I will come and read you a bedtime story, how does that sound?'

She mulled it over for a second before caving. 'Yep, but I get to pick what story?' She seriously had been with me to much. Her saying she got to pick what story he read, was her way of coming out the situation and still being able to claim that she won. I had taught her well.

Once I had sorted Rosie out and handed her over to Dimitri so that he could put her to bed, I went on my laptop just to have a look at my emails. I expected to have a few since I hadn't checked them since everything had kicked off. I knew I would have some from my mother, some court schedules, since they tended to send you your working times via internet now (the queen had finally welcomed the twenty first century) and I had expected some from Adrian, he always sent me pointless emails about pointless stuff, I think it was his way to kill time and amuse himself. The guy really needs a job.

However what I did find, I didn't expect. It was from an email address that I didn't recognize. At first I thought it was just junk, but when I looked at the subject I realised that it may be more serious that I had originally thought.

_Rose, _

_Did you seriously think I wouldn't find out that you took my child to Russia with you? Please give me more credit than that. I have unending resources that you won't even imagine, and I can get any information I need. Don't underestimate me Rose; you may have been cleverer than me when I was moroi, but now, you can't even begin to imagine the possibilities I have to get one up on you. You won't even be able to imagine what I have in store for you. I know you hate surprises, but trust me, your going to loath this one with a passion, whereas I on the other hand will find nothing but immense pleasure from it. I won't tell you what it is, because I wouldn't want to ruin the paranoia you are undoubtedly feeling, but I will say that what I have in mind for you is going to hurt... a lot. _

_I am glad though that you will finally be getting what you deserve. Ever since Lissa and I officially became a couple, you have been nothing but a pain, a useless, irritating pain, but I will put an end to that soon. You have always stood in the way of Lissa and I and our dreams. We couldn't be left alone because Lissa was always so worried about what would happen to you. But once I follow through with my plans for Lissa and my Rosie that is all going to change. Lissa will worship me for getting rid of you and of course if I get rid of you I will have to off Belikov also. That shouldn't be a problem though, because I know his weakness... YOU!_

_I hear that my wife has awoken from her coma. Well, that is good news. I am glad to hear she is back on the road to recovery. Of course as soon as I awaken her she will feel healthier than ever before, not needing the recovery time. And due to the fact that you so kindly sped the process of her waking up along, I will be able to complete my plans much sooner then I anticipated. Thank you Rose, thank you for making yet another screw up. Something tells me though that this will be your last one. _

_I am coming Rose, and soon. I will regain what is rightfully mine and my family will be back together again, in a better world, in a more deserving world. I look forward to seeing you, it's a shame that you won't feel the same, but you know? There is nothing you can do about it. _

_Give my regards to Lissa and of course my little daughter and tell her daddy will come and see her soon. _

_Not long now Rose, I'm counting down the days. _

_Christian. _

I heard a sharp intake of breath and turned around, jumping out of my seat, my laptop falling – luckily – on to the sofa instead of the floor.

I hadn't intended anyone but me to read this, but I guess that idea was out of the window now. The only good thing about the confrontation I was sure I was about to get was that it would take my mind off the disturbing message I had just received.

Dimitri was staring at me with concerned eyes. 'When were you going to tell me?'

I wasn't actually going to tell Dimitri about the email, there was no point in worrying him with this, but I knew he wouldn't be satisfied with my answer so I thought I better lie.

'As soon as I finished reading it.'

'You're lying to me.' He stated without missing a beat.

'No I'm not.' I replied defensively, regretting immediately for going like that because he knew when I got defensive it was because I wasn't being truthful.

'Rose, remember what we said, no lies. We promised each other, no lies.' He sighed, trying to seem all serene but I could see from his expression that he wasn't nearly as calm as he was trying to make me think.

'Fine, we said no lies. But just so you know, that includes you not hiding your emotions from me as well. I can see your pissed off, so you want me to tell the truth, act like a normal pissed off boyfriend, don't stand there all calm when your not, because that is lying to me.'

His eyes darkened and I mentally told myself that now was probably not the best time to rebuke him for his emotional withdrawal when he's having a go at me over something important. 'Why weren't you going to tell me the truth? Don't you trust me?' He snapped. Least he was doing as I ask and letting his anger out. Suppressed fury wasn't going to help either of us.

'Of course I trust you.' I laughed, thinking that maybe I could lighten the atmosphere. 'But it's not as important as the other things we have going on.'

'Don't laugh Rose, this isn't even funny. You need to tell me these things. How am I supposed to trust you when you lie about something as important as your own safety?'

'Look, I wasn't doing this because I didn't trust you; I wasn't going to tell you because I thought I could handle it myself.' I argued, trying to regain some credibility.

He snorted. 'Yeah, and remember what happened last time you did that? Five of your friends including you were held hostage and Mason ended up dead.' He shot at me. The comment hit me like a slap in the face. No, it hit me worse than that, least if he had hit me I could have defended myself, but with this, not so much. For the last five years I had carried the guilt of Mason's death, everyone told me that it wasn't my fault, but I thought differently, I knew it was.

I took a step away from Dimitri and let the hurt leak into my eyes. Of all the people, I never thought Dimitri would be the one to say that to me, not after back at the academy, he had practically drilled it into my head that it wasn't my fault. As soon as he realised what he had said and what he had done to me, pain and regret shot into his eyes. 'Rose, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't your fault.'

I shook my head and sat down on the couch, not looking at him, looking anywhere _but _him. 'You've had your say now Dimitri, I wont lie to you anymore, next time I get something like the email I'll let you know. It's getting late; you should probably go to bed, it's been a long day.'

I pulled my shoes and socks off and pushed them under the table, I couldn't be bothered to put them away, I'd sort them out tomorrow when I was more awake and didn't want to kill myself over the prospect of tidying up.

'Are you coming with me Rose?' He asked quietly, guilt lacing his words.

I shook my head, still not looking up at him. 'No, I think... I think I'm gonna sleep on the couch tonight.'

I heard his heavy footsteps coming towards me and felt the couch sink under his weight. I still didn't want to look at him, not because what he had said hurt, even though it did, but because what he said was nothing but the truth, hearing it from someone else made me feel all the more worse, even after all this time.

His rough hand grabbed my chin, I tried to shy away but his firm grasp made it impossible. He turned me so I was facing him, but I continued to stare down at the floor. 'Rose, look at me.' He commanded. I did as I was told, something that both of us realised was very uncharacteristic of me. 'This is why I don't let my guard down, because with out it I'm just like you, I don't think, I just speak or do.'

'Yeah, well this is why I lie to you, because you overreact.' I snapped.

'If the roles were reversed, would you want me to tell you?'

I couldn't help it; the answer was obvious so I had to voice it. 'Yes.' I muttered.

He smirked. 'So no more lying?'

'No more lying.' I confirmed.

'I really am sorry for what I said, I shouldn't have.' He whispered, his face inching closer to mine. 'It wasn't your fault. As I said before you made stupid decisions, but it wasn't your fault.'

I just looked at him, not sure how I was supposed to act now.

'Am I forgiven?' He asked in a quiet voice.

I pretended like I had to mull it over then smirked at him. 'Yeah, you are forgiven.'

'Good.' He smiled, pecking me on the lips before grabbing the house phone and dialling.

'What are you doing?'

'Calling the other guardians, they need to know what is happening.'


	22. Chapter 22

The next day when things had calmed down between me and Dimitri and all was forgiven, we took Rosie to the infirmary to see Lissa. I had been dreading this day coming because I knew that this was when I was going to have to tell her the whole story, no short cuts, no bending the truth, just the blunt, harmful facts that her undead husband was planning on turning her and their daughter, killing Dimitri and I in the process and making her one of the most powerful strigoi ever known, minus the information about Karp.

As soon as Rosie opened the door to Lissa's room, she catapulted herself across the floor and onto Lissa's bed, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck, holding her in a choke hold I would be proud of. I could see her body shaking with silent sobs as she clung to the person she loved most and feared had lost forever.

'Shh baby girl. Don't cry. Momma's here.' Lissa cooed, wrapping her arms around Rosie's small waist and stroking her back soothingly.

Rosie didn't say anything but continued to cry. I could feel through the bond that Lissa too was getting choked up, but she was fighting back against her emotions, not wanting to be weak because Rosie needed her, and crumbling in front of her broken daughter was not going to be helpful or comforting to anyone. Feeling Lissa's strong emotions, as well as my own was hard to handle and I soon found myself tearing up. As the first tear escaped I managed to swipe it away before anyone could see. I hated people seeing me cry, and even though today I had reason, it was still no exception.

'I think she missed you.' Dimitri joked, trying to ease some of the heavily emotional atmosphere.

'Yeah, I think you're right.' Lissa chuckled, kissing her daughters forehead. 'Come on Rosie; let me see you. I haven't seen that gorgeous face in ages.'

Rosie released Lissa's neck slightly and leant back to see her mother properly. She tried to smile but you could see she was still upset. Through the bond I could feel Lissa struggling with looking at her daughter. Rosie looked so much like Christian – minus the eye colour – it was untrue and seeing the almost clone like face was hard for her to handle, but she did, because she knew she had to.

'There's my pretty girl.' Lissa whispered, tucking Rosie's hair behind her ears. She kissed her on the nose. 'I've missed you Rosie. So, so much.'

'I missed you too Momma.' Rosie replied her voice breaking as she was trying to compose herself again.

Mother and daughter both sat silently for a few minutes, just relieved to be in each others company again. A doctor confirmed that Lissa was allowed to leave whenever she wanted but Lissa said she needed one more night before she felt ready to face her home, and I could understand that. She knew she was putting off the inevitable, but one night really wasn't going to make a difference, it wouldn't change anything.

'Why don't you tell your Mom what you've been up to lately Rosie? I'm sure she would love to hear about our trip.' I said, trying to bring some safe topic to chat about that wouldn't bring back too many painful thoughts to Lissa or the rest of us.

Rosie launched into a detailed description of all that happened on our trip, mainly focussing on when Olena took her out and played with her. She really had formed an attachment to Dimitri's mother. Lissa took in everything that her daughter told her, asking questions about certain parts and so on, it was good to see them communicating and enjoying being with each other. When Lissa had gone off on one about not wanting to see her daughter, I had thought that they wouldn't have a very good relationship, but for once, I was glad to be proven wrong because their relationship was now no different to before the attack.

Once Rosie had finished her tale, she sat silently on her mother's lap, enjoying the attention and warmth she was receiving. I really needed to talk to Lissa about what was happening and the things Christian was planning on doing, but I didn't want to do so in front of Rosie. She was happy at the moment; I had no intention of dampening her spirits when I didn't need to.

'Dimitri, would you mind taking Rosie to get some lunch and something to drink, I think Rose and I have something to discuss.' Lissa said smiling at me with a knowing look in her eye. I had forgotten how well she could read me.

Dimitri nodded and took a reluctant Rosie out of the room, leaving just me and Lissa.

_Just spit it out. _She thought, sending the message threw the bond. It was a relief to now have it active again because when it was broken, it had scared the hell out of me.

I sighed and sat down on the chair opposite her bed. 'What I have to tell you isn't going to be pleasant, but I think you need to know now.'

She nodded, not speaking, just wanting me to carry on so she could be in on what was happening, even if it made her suffer more. I sat silently for a moment, not sure where I should start.

'Rose, whatever it is, just tell me, you're really starting to scare me with the whole silence thing.'

I took a deep breath. 'There are some things that I didn't tell you yesterday... about Christian.'

I saw her breathing hitch, but apart from that she remained unaffected and composed, on the outside at least. In her head it was complete and utter chaos. All her emotions were running wild, she knew she needed to hear what I had to say, but at the same time she didn't want to know, she couldn't face anymore bad news.

'He isn't completely out of the picture for us.' I paused thinking how to break this to her. 'Okay, I'm just going to say this fast, like a band aid.' She nodded. 'He wants you and Rosie to join him.'

I watched her face to see if her expression would betray what she was thinking but it didn't, only the thoughts running rampage through her mind, leaking through the bond informed me of her real feelings. 'What does than mean?' She asked, her voice steady, just like her facial expression.

'It means that he is after you and Rosie, and he isn't going to stop until he is killed or he has what he wants.' I replied, proud of my best friend for having such a strong impenetrable attitude when it came to the matter at hand.

'So you're going to kill him?' She correctly guessed.

I nodded, knowing that she didn't need any confirmation from me as to my future plans. She knew me well enough to know I couldn't let him go about living and putting the people I care about at risk. That now and never has been an option for me, when something threatening arises; I need to eliminate it before it gets the better of me.

'When?' She asked, her eyes probing mine for an answer.

'I don't know, but sooner rather than later. While you and Rosie are here I don't have too much to worry about. He isn't getting through the wards. But you can't stay cooped up here forever, you need some freedom, and once you are out of Court, I know he will be on you.'

Lissa cleared her throat and pushed herself up on the pillows. Determination marked her perfectly flawless face and immediately I sensed what she was thinking.

'No way Liss.' I said before she had a chance to even say what she was thinking. 'There is no way you are doing that.'

'Rose you don't have a say in this. I'm coming with you one way or another. I owe my Christian that much. I'm going to be there, to be with him when he dies.'

'Lissa, he is already dead, and remember, this isn't the Christian we all love, this is Christian the monster, and there is no way you are going to be there. It is going to be hard enough with Karp there to keep the guardians alive; I can't be there worrying about you as well.'

'I'm going the be there one way or another, if you don't let me come with you I'll just turn up...' confusion lit her features. 'Wait a second. Rewind. Did you say Karp? As is Crazy Karp?'

'Yes.'

'Where the hell does she come into this?' She shrieked, realising there was more complicated things forming the problem we were facing than I had let on.

I sighed. I guess I kind of walked into that one. I couldn't exactly hide the truth from her now. Also considering this really did involve her, I could see that although I had wanted to hide a few of the facts from her because I wanted to protect her, it was wrong of me to lie or should I say keep the truth from her. It involved her and her child and she deserved to know the extent of the danger they were in. So I took a deep breath and told her everything I knew. I told her about the extra power spirit users have when they turn strigoi. I told her about Christian and Karp's plan to add her to their group to gain more power. I even told her about his emails threatening Dimitri and I.

When I had finished, Lissa sat silently, trying to absorb all the information I had just thrown at her. 'So you seriously had no idea Karp was involved. You didn't see her or anything on the night of the attack?' I asked, knowing the answer before she even replied.

Lissa shook her head and swallowed. 'No, I honestly didn't. I wasn't paying attention. I wasn't exactly fully functioning during the ambush considering I had been bumped around a bit, and to be honest, when your husband is being held in a headlock by bloodthirsty strigoi, you don't really pay any attention to your surroundings and the goings on, you just focus on him.'

I nodded in understanding. I suppose Lissa would have been so scared for Christian that she wouldn't have noticed anything else. She had always had eyes only for him, and the night of the attack was no different, even if it was a different reason as to why she was only zoning in on him.

We both sat in silence, Lissa processing everything and me just waiting for her to settle things in her head. But me being me, I couldn't sit there in the quiet for more than a few minutes. I was itching to find out what exactly she recalled of that night.

'Do you remember that night?' I asked quietly.

She chuckled humourlessly. 'More than I would like to. Whenever I close my eyes, all I can see is Christian being dragged further and further away from me.'

'Do you think if Eddie and I had been on duty things would have happened differently?' I asked hesitantly. Wanting to know whether she thought things could have panned out differently.

'Yes.' She sighed, taking my hand and smiling at me. 'If you had been on duty I would have lost not only my husband, but my best friend too. I'm glad you weren't there Rose. I couldn't handle loosing both of you.'

I smiled sadly. Part of me had expected her to hate me for not being there, for not keeping her safe, for not saving Christian. I would understand if she did. I beat myself up about it all the time. But there was nothing to be done about it now, so more than ever, I needed to prove not only to Lissa, but to myself, that I was more than capable of keeping her safe.

'You can come with us, whenever we go and find Christian, but you can't be anywhere near him, you need to stay out of the way until everything is safe. Okay? That is the best offer you are going to get out of me. I came close to loosing you once Lissa, I'm not going to do it again.'

'That sounds fair enough.' She agreed, knowing that she probably wouldn't get a better offer for this one request. She also knew on this subject it was better not to push me.

Watching Lissa I could see that she was getting tired. Her pale skin was darkening under her sparkling green eyes. It would be a good idea if I left, she needed her rest. She let out a huge yawn to confirm my suspicions that she was in fact shattered.

'I'll go if you want. You should get some sleep Liss, you're completely exhausted.' She smiled and lowered herself so she was lying flat on the hospital bed.

I rose from the chair I was sitting on and went to give her a hug goodbye, but her hand clamped onto my arm. 'Rose can you stay with me for a while. I don't sleep very well at the moment, and I think you being here would help.'

I smiled at her and resumed my seat. 'Sure, I'll stay if you think it will help.'

She nodded sleepily and turned onto her side.

It wasn't long before she was asleep. I could tell it wasn't a deep one because she was too fidgety, but still any sleep was good. After about ten minutes though, I noticed a light sweat break out on her forehead and her breathing increased slightly. Unease and distress shot through the bond so quickly it made me dizzy, and before I knew it I was snapped into her head by the volume of emotion running through her.

Everything was dark but within a second my surroundings were illuminated and all I saw was dead bodies and blood. I looked in front of me and to my horror saw a beaten Christian, being held tightly by two strigoi. I don't know why two were holding him, one was more than capable of keeping him under control, but to be honest I didn't care about the reasoning. All I cared about was that someone I loved was being held captive. Panic shot through me like an electric shock, and then I realised where I was. While Lissa slept, she was dreaming about the attack. And I was in the re-enactment of the most horrible night of Lissa's life.


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Things have been pretty hectic lately, but I've finally managed to finish this chapter. Thank you so much for all the reviews, story alerts etc. It means a lot that you all like my story. I will try and update the next chapter sooner rather than later, so it should be up in the next few days. **

I tried concentrating on getting out of Lissa's head, I knew the basics of what happened that night; I didn't need to witness it as well; it wouldn't help or anything. But Lissa's emotions were too strong and I found no way to pull myself out of this hell.

'Please, please don't hurt him!' Lissa screamed, dropping to her hands and knees. She didn't care what happened to her, she didn't care about all the possible ways in which they could torture her, all she cared about was getting Christian away from the strigoi and back to safety. 'I will do anything you want, anything. I'll come with you now, just please, please let him go.'

The three clone like strigoi who had ambushed me a few weeks ago were the only strigoi at the scene, and two of them were holding Christian in a vice tight grip. All the guardians who had been with them were scattered lifelessly around the car park. I realised immediately that there couldn't have been just three strigoi there, because although they were powerful, there was no way in hell that they could cause so much mess and destruction and kill so many trained guardians between just the three of them; there had to have been more beforehand.

One of the blonde strigoi approached the cowering Lissa and grabbed her wrist. 'Why would we give him up when we've already got you?'

Lissa whimpered inaudibly, but the monster holding onto her heard her scared intake of breath and smirked.

The sun wasn't far off rising, but it was still too far away to be guaranteed on for helping. There was no way it would come up in time to get her out of the terrifying situation, but she still had to try and make the distraction. She couldn't let Christian die when he wasn't the targeted one. That wasn't right. They wanted her; they couldn't have him as well.

Everything after that happened in slow motion. The strigoi holding Christian carefully leant his head to the side and placed his lips to Christian's neck and before Lissa could even utter a word, the strigoi exposed his fangs and bit deeply into Christian's neck.

A sharp scream erupted from Lissa's chest before she was knocked sideways by something solid. Not only knocking her to the floor, but knocking her into unconsciousness.

I snapped out of Lissa's head and back into my own. Lissa's scream echoing through the room. Her eyes were still firmly closed, but I knew she was semi-conscious.

'Liss, wake up, it's only-' I abruptly stopped. I had been about to say that 'it was only a dream' but it wasn't. Although she was asleep and reliving what had happened, what had happened had happened. What she was dreaming was in fact her reality and there was no way to hide that. 'Liss, you're dreaming, you're safe.' I said, lightly shaking her shoulder.

Her eyes snapped open, her breathing erratic. She tried to steady her nerves before breathing. 'I take it you saw.' She didn't need to specify that she was talking about her dream, there was nothing but that I could have seen, and she knew it.

'Is that all you remember?' I asked, edging closer to her.

'Yeah.'

I nodded, knowing that her answer was truthful. I smirked. 'Well if it helps, the one that bit him is dead now, along with the other blondes.'

Lissa chuckled. 'Yeah, I suppose that helps a bit. Doesn't change anything though.'

'No.' I sighed. 'It doesn't change anything.

The next day Lissa was discharged and she went home, taking Rosie with her. She had said that she needed to get Rosie back into her normal routine since her world had been so shaken over the last couple of weeks. I had to agree with Lissa on that one, but I still couldn't help but feel a slight loss when she left. I know I'll see her everyday, but still, having the little girl live with me was an experience I loved and I would miss her greatly.

Once we got some time to ourselves because we didn't need to worry about looking after a child, Dimitri and I knuckled down and tried to find a solution, figuring out how to go about our problem with Christian. The biggest obstacle was the fact that we had no idea just how powerful Karp was. We don't know for sure that she showed me everything she could do, and that left us at a huge disadvantage. What if there was a chance that she could attack every single guardian at the same time with her backwards spirit? Then we'd all be either dead or strigoi and with Karp I had a feeling it would be the latter.

'I think the safest bet is to wait and see what happens. It would be better if they came to us instead of us seeking them out.' Dimitri said, flopping back on the sofa after a tiring day of work.

'No, because we wont know when they're coming. They've got enough of an advantage with Karp; they can't have the element of surprise as well.' I argued, throwing myself down next to him.

'Rose, if we go after them, we will loose many guardians.'

'And if we let them come to us, we will loose many guardians. There is no way to avoid this Dimitri. It is going to happen one way or another, we just need to figure out away to limit our losses.'

'That's a little insensitive Rose.' He chastised, frowning at me like I was a misbehaving child.

'It's not insensitive, it is practical. We need to face up to what we're against; we can't wrap the situation up in cotton wool and will it away. It isn't going to happen. We need to be prepared.' I rubbed my weary eyes with the back of my hands. 'I can't let them touch Lissa again, even if it means them taking me in her place.'

'That will never happen.' Dimitri growled. 'I know Lissa is your best friend and charge, but you will never put her life before yours. Understand?'

'A little contradictory comrade, you'd do it for yours.' I replied.

He winced. He knew I was right, but when it came to me it seems he had different rules. 'That isn't the same though. You throw yourself into impossible situations and expect to get out fine. I don't, I think things through.'

And although I hated to admit it, he was completely one hundred percent right. I wasn't going to let him know that though. 'You still think of me as that irresponsible seventeen year old. I've grown up Dimitri, I'm an adult now.'

'Really? I hadn't notice.' He mocked, faking his surprise. My guess was that he was trying to steer us away from heavy conversation. We were both tired and needed time to chill before we went back to calculating and planning.

I slapped his arm and removed myself from the sofa. 'Where are you going?' He asked, doing his one eyebrow raise thing.

'Away from you, you're too distracting and I have work to do.'

'Rose, come on. You need to relax at some point. You're going to make yourself ill.' He sighed, trying to pull me back to him. I skipped out of his way though and took another step back.

'I will rest when I've killed that son of a bitch and my best friend and goddaughter are no longer in immediate danger okay?'

He shook his head and stood as well. 'No, not okay. You are going to chill for tonight, and then if you do that, I swear tomorrow I will help you do whatever you need to do. Does that sound fair?'

I mulled it over for a minute and realised that it was probably the best offer I was going to get from him. 'Fine. That sounds fair.' I leant up and placed a soft kiss on his lips. 'Sorry... did you just say chill?' I inquired suddenly realising what I thought I had heard.

'Yes, I think I've been spending too much time with you.' He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me.

'Well, you know you're free to leave at any time. The doors right over there.' I joked, pointing to the exit.

'No, I think a little modern language is a price worth paying if it means I can be with you.' He kissed me on the lips again, harder and more urgent this time and suddenly, all thought of work disappeared out of the window.

We were both up early the next day, and true to his word. Dimitri helped me figure this mess out, or figure it out as much as possible anyway. It did help a lot having him look at the situation too, because he had a different approach and attitude to me and thought up things that I did not.

We had both agreed that it would be better to go to them, instead of the other way around. It had taken a while to convince Dimitri that this was the case, but he eventually came around with a lot of persuading. Although the idea of confronting strigoi was not appealing, it was a hell of a lot more attractive than the thought of them finding us when we aren't prepared.

The only problem with finding them was that we didn't have a clue where they were. Obviously, they had tabs on us, but it was only one way. The only thing we could think of was to lure them to us. And the only way we could do that, was to set a trap. And I was not keen on this idea at all.

'The only way we can get them to us is by using Lissa.' Dimitri sighed after analysing all possible angles again. He didn't like the idea of putting Lissa at risk anymore than I did.

'I don't know if I can actually do that.' I admitted, sighing in defeat alongside him.

He took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye. 'We might have to Rose if you want to keep her safe.'

I laughed without humour. 'How the hell is that keeping her safe? We are putting her right out there in the war zone, if anything we are putting her in more danger.'

He rubbed his temples harshly, as if he were getting a headache from all the heavy thinking, which was probably the case. 'If we have enough of us there, she should be safe enough.'

I scoffed and shook my head. ''Should be safe' is not going to fly with me. I need to know that she will be one hundred percent safe, one hundred percent of the time.'

'Rose, you of all people should know that a moroi is never safe one hundred percent of the time.'

What the hell did he mean by that? With all the 'You of all people' crap. 'What's that supposed to me? Me of all people.'

He held his hands up in surrender, sensing another fight coming on. 'Nothing, nothing. I'm just saying that when Christian was turned, think of how many guardians were there and he still got turned.'

'That was because they were inept.' I replied harshly.

Dimitri gave me a warning glance and lowered his voice. 'You know that isn't true and to be honest Rose, it is really disrespectful to talk about the people who died to enable the protection of your charge and friend.'

I dropped my gaze, kind of ashamed at the comment I had just made. 'Sorry. I'm just stressed.'

'Yeah, well, I think everyone is.'

I climbed up from the floor, so that I was lying on the couch. Dimitri got up too and lifted my legs so that he could sit down with my feet in his lap.

'I just don't think I can put Lissa in that much danger again, not willingly anyway.' I whispered, sadness taking on my voice unexpectedly.

Dimitri rubbed my calves reassuringly and leant his head back, staring at the ceiling. 'I don't think we have the luxury of option anymore Rose, I really don't.'

'There must be another way; we have to find something less extreme.' I argued, getting frustrated with myself more than anything from not preventing the situation in the first place.

'Dimitri is right Rose, there is no other way.' A soft voice said from the doorway.

I turned round so fast that I nearly fell off the couch, but Dimitri's firm hold kept me steady. Lissa was stood there, a sparkle in her eye at knowing that there was a possibility of ending this nightmare. _Let me do this. _She sent through the bond, causing me to unconsciously shake my head.

'No Liss, it's too much.'

'Rose, we've had this discussion already, either you let me come and do this, and take all the precautions you want, or I'll go on my own, putting myself in more danger than I would be with you.'

'Princess, have you thought this through. What you want to do it going to be extremely dangerous. If it went wrong then you could leave Rosie without either parents, are you prepared to do that?' Dimitri asked, looking her dead in the eye. I thought it was a great angle to go in at. Emotional blackmail about her daughter would at least make her think twice. Dimitri did me proud.

'Rosie will always be with people who love her.' She answered simply, kind of avoiding the overall question Dimitri asked.

'Not if you die, we die and Eddie dies. What would you do then? Let her be left to Adrian. Sure he loves the little girl but he isn't exactly parent material is he?' I argued, not believing this was her final answer.

'There is always Tasha.' Of course there was always Tasha; she just wanted her niece all to herself. 'And anyway. I don't care what you think, I need to do this. I owe him this much.'

I growled. I mean I actually made a growling noise. Attractive or what Rose? I could tell that in Lissa's head she still thought of Christian as... well Christian. She didn't think of him as the killing strigoi he had become. 'Christian is dead Lissa. He is never coming back. The Christian you are thinking of is a monster now. He is a killing machine, bloodthirsty and deadly and you want to go running into his arms like he is still your husband. You're not thinking clearly, you're letting your emotions rule you head.' How many times would I have to repeat that to her to get her to believe it?

'Just because you can get inside my head doesn't mean you know everything I'm thinking.' Well it kind of does Liss, but okay. 'I want to partake in my husband's soul being set free. I want to be the trap that they all fall for. If this is my choice then you have no say. Remember Rose, you are my guardian, you work for me. You do as I say, when I say it, got it?'

Like that had ever worked before. But through the bond I could sense that Lissa was going to do this, with my approval or not. 'Fine, okay. You can be the trap. But you do what I say as I say it and if I tell you to get out, you get out.' Then in a childish voice I repeated what she had patronizingly said to me. 'Got it?'

'Yes.' She nodded solemnly. She didn't like my immaturity at using repetition, but she chose to ignore it and not comment. However, as she stood there, I could tell there was something else she wanted to ask as well, but she didn't know how I would react.

'Just spit it out Liss.'

'Will you teach me how to fight?' she asked hesitantly.

I actually laughed at that thinking it was a joke. It must be a joke right? There was no way she had just asked me to teach her to fight strigoi. But her sombre expression and straight face told me that was exactly what she had just asked.

'No way.'

She glared at me. I was not appreciating the attitude she was suddenly giving me. She was always the more subdued one, back in the good old days.

'Why not?' She asked petulantly, like a child being chastised by her mother.

'Because that tells me you are planning on fighting and that wasn't our deal.' I replied. I thought I was being more than reasonable. I had agreed to let her come, and then I had agreed to let her be the trap, but fighting alone? That was where I drew the line.

This was Dimitri's turn to jump in. Ha, always good to have the Russian god on my side. 'Think about it Rose, it might be a good idea to give her some pointers, at least then she is prepared.' Or you know, he could take my best friends side over mine.

'No, the answer is no. You won't need to fight. I will make sure of that. I will be with you the whole time and be there if you need someone to protect you.' I said honestly, that was my plan and I was sticking to it.

'Rose, what if you're in the middle of a fight, you can't turn your back and come to me, that's how people die.' Lissa argued. She should know by now not to challenge me, I mean I have an answer to everything.

I nodded and looked her dead in the eye. 'If that happens then so be it. You come first Liss; you should know that by now.'

And neither Dimitri nor Lissa was happy about my answer.

**I have started a new story as well. It isn't a VA one (even though once this one is finished I am planning to do another VA one) but if you're a twilight fan, give it a go. It is called 'A Novel To Remember' So it would be great if you could give it a read and let me know what you think of it. xxx**


	24. Chapter 24

'Lissa you need to better than that.' Dimitri said, holding his hands up in front of me. I had taken a coffee break because all the planning was actually doing my head in and as I had taken a minute to sit and relax I had been sucked into Lissa's head.

'Come on, I know you can do better than this.' He continued, goading her into improving. What was he talking about, why was he being so pushy with her. He never usually criticized moroi, especially not royal moroi, so what was going on with him and Lissa?

Lissa swung her fist at him, but he easily blocked it. This better not be what I think it is. 'Dimitri, seriously, I don't know what else I am supposed to do, you keep blocking me.' She whined, getting frustrated with the lack of progress she seemed to be making.

'Lissa, how can you expect to have any defence against strigoi when you can't even defend yourself against me?'

She nodded and concentrated, pulling her arm back and aiming another blocked punch to his face. 'Is this what you were like with Rose?' She panted, continuing to throw pitiful punches at him.

He smirked at the memory of when he used to mentor me. 'I was much worse with Rose.'

She laughed, lunging hopelessly for him. 'How can it get much more than this?'

He pinned her to the mat in a second, then helped her back up again once her breathing had slowed down. 'Believe me; if you want worse, I'm more than happy to give you a Rose work out.'

She stepped back from him, holding her hands up in surrender. 'No, no. That won't be necessary.' She looked around the gym, trying to seek out what she wanted to do next. 'Can we practice staking for a bit? I think I need a rest.'

'You can tell you're a moroi, you think the staking is the easiest part. Seriously, the sparring is nothing compared to how much effort it takes to stake a strigoi.' Dimitri chuckled, walking to the other end of the gym to retrieve a stake. Lissa walked forward, grabbing the stake and positioning herself in front of three punching bags. 'I had the new ones replaced with the old. We don't want all the good ones getting wrecked.' She nodded. 'Now, first of all, I just want you to aim anywhere, just as long as you get the stake through, got it?'

She nodded and snaked forward, the tip of the stake just piercing the exterior of the bag. 'Dimitri, this is way too hard.'

'What? And you think it is easy to drive one through a strigoi. They're not like you and I. They're not soft and squidgy. They're tough and you need to get used to exerting the amount of power in order to incapacitate and kill them.'

I had seen enough of this. It was bad enough Lissa going against my wishes, but Dimitri? Fair enough Lissa was doing this for Christian, and love makes you do deceitful things, but what excuse did Dimitri have? Or maybe he just wanted to piss me off.

Once I got to the gym I swung the doors open, making them ricer shay off of the walls behind them. Immediately the two people I had come to find turned in surprise. As soon as Dimitri realised it was me, he dropped his gaze and a guilty expression crept onto his face. However Lissa held my stare, her lips trying to suppress a smug smile.

'I'm sorry; I think we had a miscommunication yesterday. When I said no to you learning to fight, I meant you were not to do it. Not go ahead and do it behind my back.' I said sarcastically.

'It was the only way Rose, you said no, but you were being irrational. I need to be prepared I can't go defenceless. That's suicidal.' She replied, her brow creasing in annoyance.

'No.' I snapped. 'You going full stop, is suicidal this is even worse.'

'Roza, she needs to-' Dimitri started but I cut him off with a cut of my hand through the air.

'And you.' I snarled, pointing at him. My eyes lowering into a deathly glare. 'What the fuck are you thinking? You knew how I felt about this, and you still go behind my back. How could you.'

He crossed his arms, his chin strutting out stubbornly. 'What I was thinking? I was thinking that we don't need Lissa coming with us and being a liability. She needs to know how to take care of herself just enough so that if we are dealing with something, we have enough time to finish it and get to her safely.'

'If you are thinking this then why didn't you speak to me, talk some sense in to me, and tell me you were doing it whether I liked it or now. Then at least I wouldn't feel lied to and betrayed.'

'As if you would listen to me. Your so stubborn nothing will change your mind, how the hell do you think I'm meant to.'

'So you think I would have killed my friend by not teaching her defence, just out of sheer stubbornness?' I whispered angrily, gritting my teeth so forcefully it is a wonder I didn't chip any of them.

'Not intentionally.' He said cautiously, backing away from the wrath of my reaction that was sure to be explosive.

'You know what? You can go fuck yourself. Don't come near me tonight and don't even think about trying to sleep in our bed, because you belong on the couch until I tell you otherwise, got it?'

I stormed out of the gym, leaving my boyfriend and best friend behind me. To a certain extent I knew what they were saying was right, but I was so annoyed at the secrecy they had chosen to undergo that I couldn't think rationally and I wouldn't even consider backing down just yet.

'Aunt Rose!' Someone squealed from behind me.

I turned to find Oksana and Mark standing behind a now hurtling Rosie. She shot forward as fast as her little legs could take her and threw herself into my awaiting arms. I hugged her to me and breathed in her familiar lavender scent.

'Hey pretty girl. How are you doing?' I asked, kissing both her cheeks then her little button nose.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her lashes were dampened. I could see a trail of old tearstains, marking their way down her beautiful face. 'What happened to you?' I asked, motherly concern colouring my tone. Although I wasn't her mother, I couldn't help the parental feelings I had towards her, after all I had always loved her like I would love my own daughter.

'Someone decided to jump off one of the swings when she was swinging and cut her knee.' Oksana said chastising. You could tell she wasn't annoyed or angry; she was just concerned for the little girl.

'It's okay though, it is amazing how a pink band aid can make her stop crying.' Mark chuckled, putting his arm around his wife's waist and pulling her close to him.

'Yeah, she'll milk any injury for all it is worth until she has a band aid, I think she likes to play the part of the wounded soldier a little too much, just like her daddy does.' I started at what I had said. 'I mean, just like her daddy did.' Any time I would playfully punch Christian or smack him on the back of the head because he had been winding me up, the fuss he made would have made you think I had butchered him.

'Daddy was a bit of a drama queen.' Rosie agreed a small pink smile lighting up her face at remembering her father. She always did find the good in everything, even memories, although they were painful, she liked them because it meant a part of Christian was still there with her.

'That he definitely was.' I laughed, nuzzling my nose into her wild windswept hair. 'So have you been on baby sitting duty today?' I asked Mark and Oksana.

'Yeah, Lissa said her and Dimitri had things to do, and that you were too busy to look after this little one.' Oksana said, stroking Rosie's back gently. 'So I offered.'

'That was very kind, I hope she didn't put you out too much.'

'No, it was fun looking after her, I had forgotten how energizing children can be.' Oksana chuckled.

'Well as long as she wasn't too much trouble.'

'No, until the fall, she was an absolute angel, then when she fell she was a crying angel.' Mark smiled, looking at Rosie with adoring eyes. I smirked, shifting Rosie so that she was more comfortably placed on my hip.

'So are you taking her back to Lissa now?' I asked them seeing as they were heading towards the gym.

'Yep, our baby sitting duties are officially over.' Mark sighed.

'Well, if you want, why don't you two head back, and I'll take Rosie.' I offered. After all it was their holiday of sorts, so why should they have to look after a child when they should be relaxing and doing typical holiday stuff.

'If you're sure Rose.'

'Yeah, I've got nothing better to do.'

Lissa and Dimitri were still going at their practice, even after my outburst, and to be honest I was relieved. At the end of the day, Dimitri was right, and I was wrong. But I'm not ever going to admit that again. If Lissa was going to learn how to fight, I was glad Dimitri had taken it upon himself to be the one to train her. After all, he was the best there was, he had taught me everything I knew and all my kills were down to his dedication and persistence as my teacher.

I walked in, hand in hand with Rosie. 'I think this belongs to you.' I said.

Lissa turned and a huge smile covered her face at the appearance of her daughter. 'Hey baby, did you have a good day?'

Rosie nodded and walked over to her mother to give her a hug.

'Can you stay here with Dimitri for a second honey, Momma and Aunt Rose need to have a little chat.' Lissa continued, ushering Rosie over to Dimitri.

I turned my back and went outside again, sensing that Lissa was close behind me.

'First of all, I'm not going to apologize for learning how to fight. This was my decision, not yours and I am not sorry for wanting to protect myself. But I will say I am sorry for going behind your back.'

I nodded, accepting fully what she was saying, but if she thought she was going to get a sorry out of me because of my reaction, she had another thing coming. 'Okay, well I wont say I'm sorry for not wanting you involved and I wont say I'm sorry for the way I've acted. I will say I'm sorry for the way I've gone about making my opinion known, but that is all you are going to get from me.'

She nodded, absorbing what I was saying and understanding that this was probably the best she as going to get out of me. 'With that said, are we friends again now?' She asked with a timid smile.

'I think so.' I said, enveloping her in a huge hug. 'I just don't want you in danger.' I whispered honestly. 'I nearly lost you once, I don't think I can face that again.'

'I understand Rose, I really do. But I'm sick of everyone fighting my battles. It is me they want, so why should everyone else be able to stand up and protect me and me not be able to do it myself? It is time I toughened up and got my ass in gear. I don't want to have to depend on people all the time. I want to be able to look after myself.'

'Fine, I will accept this, but please promise me that you won't put yourself in unnecessary danger. I need you more than you know.' I laughed, although I hated to admit that I needed anyone, Lissa was the one person I could do that to and I wasn't ashamed at needing my best friend to keep me on the straight and narrow. I pulled back and looked at her. 'I'm gonna go now Liss, I'm tired and I have loads to do before the big event.'

'Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow.' She said, giving me one big squeeze before releasing me.

After I had gotten a few meters away from her, she called out to me. 'Oh and Rose. Don't be too harsh on Dimitri, he loves you more than you know.'

I nodded and continued on my way. Although I knew that I shouldn't stay mad at Dimitri, I was still going to make him suffer for going behind my back.

I was sat in my pj's watching the TV when Dimitri finally made his appearance. I think he was avoiding coming home because he knew he was in the dog house with me. When he entered the living room, he had a sack full of something, hanging over his shoulder.

'What's that?' I asked, not taking my eyes off the TV.

'Just stuff of ours that I gave Oksana, so that she could enhance them with Spirit. I thought they would be useful to take with us when we go after Christian and Karp.' He sighed, dropping the bag on the kitchen table before sitting down on the couch next to me.

'Huh.' Was all I said.

'Are you still mad at me?' He asked hesitantly. I don't know why he bothered asking, he knew what the answer would be.

'Yep, to an extent.' I nodded.

'Can we at least talk about it?' He asked, placing his hand on my shoulder and rubbing soothing circles in my skin with his thumb.

I knocked his hand away and kept my eyes glued to the tele. 'There is nothing to talk about. You lied to me, went behind my back, and then insulted me. I think you've said all there is to say, don't you?'

'Why do you always have to behave like this? I did what I did for the right reasons, I didn't do it to get at you. I did it because I knew if I didn't and something happened to Lissa, you would feel like you'd failed her.'

'That isn't you only reason though. I can tell when you're lying to me now Comrade. You did it because you wanted to prove me wrong, because you wanted to belittle me and my judgement in front of my friend. What was the matter? Were you feeling emasculated because I was the one calling the shots?'

'Rose, that's not true, I'm nothing like that and you know it.' He snapped, folding his arms over his chest and scowling at me.

'I thought you were nothing like that, but I guess I was wrong. It seems you're a bit old fashioned. What, do you believe you are better than me? You're the man of the house, so you call all the shots, is that what this is? Because I tell you what, that shit isn't going to sit with me if you're going to be all controlling. Do you get a cheap thrill from overruling me? Is that what is happening here?'

'I was scared!' He yelled, making me cringe back a bit. Dimitri didn't yell often, and when he did, you knew it was because something had really made him mad. I was just regretful that I had to be that something. 'There you happy now? Your invulnerable boyfriend was scared... is scared. That make you feel better, seeing my weak side?'

I swivelled so I was facing him. He was no longer looking at me, but at a spot on the wall. His jaw was set angrily and his eyes were full of unshed emotion. 'What were you scared of?' I asked softly. I wanted to take his hand, but I sensed that right now was not the time to make any gesture like that.

His voice lowered until it was barely a whisper. 'Of what might happen.' He admitted, still not looking at me.

'What do you mean, you were scared of what might happen in the fight?' I asked, needing to clear this up, because obviously there were hidden depths of truth as to why Dimitri had lied to me.

'Yes and no.' He took a deep breath and lowered his gaze to the floor. He still wasn't looking at me, which meant whatever he had to say, he found hard to admit. 'I can't loose you.'

I took his hand, hoping to get his head to turn as well, but it didn't. 'Dimitri?' Nothing. 'Dimitri.' Nothing again. 'Dimitri, look at me.' He hesitated, but slowly his big brown eyes turned to me. 'You won't ever loose me. I'm here for keeps, got it? I am going to bug you till the day you die, then when I die, I'll bug you some more. You are never going to get rid of me.' I had hoped a small smile would break onto his face, but nothing, whatever was eating up at him was not something that could be broken easily. 'Talk to me Dimitri. Don't shut me out. Tell me what happened today, tell me what's going on in that head of yours.'

'Yesterday, about what you said. You said, you would put yourself in danger in order to protect Lissa. Did you mean that?' He asked.

I bit my lip and nodded to him.

'So basically, yesterday, you chose her over me by saying that.' He whispered, obviously not trusting his voice.

'Dimitri, I could never choose either of you over each other. I love you both.'

'No, yesterday you chose her over me and you know it. By protecting her, you'd end up dead yourself, which means that I would die too. So yesterday by saying what you did, you chose her life over mine.'

'Come on Comrade, you can't tell me you would go all suicidal over me?' I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

'Not literally, no. I mean I would want to, but I would never be that selfish. But without you, my soul is gone, so I would be like an empty shell. There is no me without you Roza.' He bit his lip, I knew that look, he was determining whether to tell me something that he knew I wouldn't like. 'You know Lissa wouldn't think twice before choosing Christian over you. In fact, in her actions she has done exactly that. She knows that when it comes to it, you will be there to protect her, even if it means you loosing you own life. But still she has to make herself present, no matter the danger she is putting you in.'

'But we agreed she needed to be the trap.' I argued, trying to defend my best friend even though I knew what Dimitri was saying was right.

'It didn't matter about the trap, she would have been there one way or another.' He laughed humourlessly.

'I know.' I whispered. 'But she is my best friend, my charge, I share a bond with her, what am I supposed to do, abandon her now? Because she wants to put her husband's undead life before my own?'

'No, but for once, I need you to put yourself first. I don't want you to, I _need _you to.'

I nodded in agreement, hoping that I would be able to keep that promise to him.

'So is that the only reason you taught her to fight, because it could save my life?' I asked, wanting to get even more of an insight.

'Well yes, but in a different way. I got to thinking. You already suffer from spirits darkness quite a lot and it can make you do crazy things. But then I wondered, what if Lissa died? What would happen to you? Would the darkness be too much, too much that you would take yourself from me?' He asked. 'What if you took yourself from me by choice, just because of pure insanity?'

I had to admit, that was something that had always bothered me as well. I had always wondered if spirit would become too much for me to handle. In fact I had once voiced this concern to Dimitri, but he had told me that I would never do that because he wouldn't let me. And I still believe that now, Dimitri would never let me harm myself, I had faith in him.

He released my hand and folded his arms against his chest. 'So call me selfish, call me unreasonable, I don't care. I will not have anything put you in danger and if that means me going against you, then so be it. I will make you hate me if I have to, but you will value your own life more than you do, and you will live because I need you.'

Just as I was about to answer my phone buzzed signalling I had a text. I leant over the arm of the chair to grab the cell phone off of the coffee table and pressed the read button.

_We go tomorrow, bright and early, no exceptions. Found their hide out. Just need to get there._

'That was Eddie. We go tomorrow, they've all the information they need and now we're all set up.'

Dimitri didn't answer, he just bobbed his head.

'We should get some sleep Comrade, big day tomorrow, and it's already late.' I said, getting up and waiting for him to join me.

'Just chuck me some blankets out of the bedroom.' He said, he was really in a bad mood thanks to our heart to heart and bless him, he thought I was still going to make him sleep on the sofa.

'Maybe I was a bit harsh with you earlier. I would really like it if you slept in our bed with me instead of out here on the couch.' I said honestly, bending down to his sitting level and capturing his lips in mine. 'I love you so much Dimitri, and I promise tomorrow, I will do everything I can to keep myself safe, but you've got to promise me you will do the same.'

'I promise.' He whispered to me, placing one of his large hands on my cheek and caressing it softly.

'Now, are you going to come with me?' I asked, still not sure his answer would be yes.

'There is no other place I would rather be.'


	25. Chapter 25

**Well this is it. The big attack. Review and let me know what you think. **

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. I don't know what was wrong with me, I mean, I was never usually nervous before a fight... but then again, I had never really had much warning as to when I am about to attack strigoi, so this was different.

The thought of seeing Christian again made my stomach churn. Karp I could deal with, I had known she had turned, I had found out as soon as Dimitri had dragged my ass back to the academy. But thinking about someone I loved, as one of _them _made me feel physically sick.

'Rose, what are you doing? We're going to have to go in a minute.' Dimitri said, walking towards me and wrapping his arm around my waist.

I sighed and leant back against him, revelling in his spicy scent and warmth. 'I just thought since Oksana had been so kind as to charm all of our silver, we might as well use it, I mean it cant hurt can it?'

'No my love, it can't.'

Just as I was shuffling through the bag of our belongings that Dimitri had brought back last night, the doorbell rang.

'I'll get it.' Dimitri murmured, before kissing me on the cheek lovingly and disappearing out the room.

Oksana must have been really spent after she had charmed all this lot. Dimitri had given her a whole lot of things. The jewellery we had bought when we were in Russia was few among the contents of the bag, obviously he had wanted them... recharged – if that is what you can call it.

'Hathaway, I know it is your thing to be late, but can we change that, just for today?' Eddie called from the doorway.

I wanted to reply with some smart ass comment, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, not today. 'Yeah, just give me a sec.'

I grabbed both of my stakes, knowing that Lissa would now need one, and snatched up a handful of charmed silver that Dimitri and I could wear on us without it being a liability, then I turned on my heel and headed out of the apartment, for what I hoped wouldn't be the last time.

It had been arranged that Dimitri, Eddie and I would travel in a car with Lissa. Because although it probably wouldn't work, there was a slight chance that if the strigoi saw just the three of us, they would think we were defenceless and get a surprise when all the other guardians descended on them. Obviously with their super enhanced hearing, it was more like wishful thinking at them not hearing the guardians, but it was worth a try right?

All the others were going to be arranged in standard black cars, scattered around the park area, surrounding a children's play area where the strigoi had taken up residence in one of the rundown abandoned houses.

'So you ready?' Eddie asked, as we approached the vehicles ready to take us away from salvation and into a war zone.

'As ready as I'll ever be I guess.' I replied, taking hold of Dimitri's hand and leading him to the car which already had Lissa sitting in anxiously.

She was sat in the middle seat in the back of the car, I could feel that she was petrified but was as determined as ever to see this through to the end. When I slid in next to her she turned to face me, nibbling on her lip nervously.

'Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to change your mind.' I said, half hoping that she would.

'No. I need to do this.' Lissa replied strongly, clicking her seatbelt into place as if that would cement her into this arrangement.

'Okay then.' I nodded. I was through with trying to change her mind anymore. If this is what she had to do, then that is exactly what she was going to do, and although I didn't like it, she would be getting no argument from me anymore.

I leant my head back against the headrest, listening to Dimitri barking orders at our fellow guardians. Dimitri was a natural born leader. He was an icon that all guardians looked up to and there was no one I would rather have with me to run this attack. I had faith in him to make us as safe as possible.

After a few minutes, Dimitri climbed into the drivers seat of the car. We had agreed that Dimitri should drive – because apparently my driving wasn't good enough – and Eddie and I should sit in the back seats on either side of Lissa.

'Ready?' Dimitri asked, revving up the engine.

'Ready Comrade.' I confirmed.

Dimitri nodded and slowly started to pull away. We didn't get very far though before we felt a banging on the roof.

'What the f-' I yelled, unbuckling my seatbelt and shooting out of the car. As soon as I got out I saw Tomas, a disgraced guardian, standing in front of me, looking kind of sheepish.

He had been banned from guarding ever since he ran away, on his own accord, to kill Karp. When she was moroi, they were lovers, so he felt it was his duty to end her of her undead state, even if she did choose to turn instead of get turned forcefully.

'Tomas what are you doing?' I asked, confusion furrowing my brow.

'I need to come with you. I need to be the one to end her.' He pleaded, his eyes wide with emotion.

I felt sorry for him. Anyone in their right mind would go after the one they loved in order to set their soul free, so why should he have been punished for it. He wasn't being irresponsible or reckless when he left, he was being loyal and any guardian could see that. Loyalty makes a great guardian. I had nothing against Tomas, I knew why he did it and I would have most definitely done the same.

'All you had to do was ask.' I told him, and beckoned him to the car Lissa, Dimitri, Eddie and I were in.

Tomas sent me a small smile and climbed in the passenger side, up front next to Dimitri.

Some of the guardians were bound not to like my decision, but to be honest, I couldn't care less. Guardians were guardians at the end of the day and the more we had the safer we were.

The tension in the car was almost painful, all of us anxious to an extent to find out what was before us. Lissa was the worst because she definitely wasn't used to this sort of thing. I thought the best thing I could do was try and take her mind off it.

'Here.' I said, pulling a stake out of my jacket. 'I brought this for you.'

She took it and twirled it around with her fingers, looking at it intently. 'Thanks, but I've already got one.'

'Oh? And who gave you that?'

'Mark. Oksana has been teaching me how to charm silver and while I was over there, Mark gave me his stake to use.' She replied, pulling out the one Mark had given her.

'Well that was nice of him.' I said, smiling at her to show that I wasn't mad at her wanting to have a weapon to use in defence. 'Can you take this one as well though? I'd just feel happier if I knew you had a back up.'

'Go on then, just because it's you.' She chuckled lightly, and tucked away both stakes. She was silent for a moment before turning to be and looking at me with a probing intensity. 'Rose, are you scared when you kill strigoi?'

'No.' I replied honestly.

'How can you not be? I'm sitting here and I can't think of anything else. I don't think I have ever been so scared in my life.' She whispered.

I sighed. 'Usually Liss, you don't have this warning that you are going to need to fight. Normally it just happens. Then the adrenaline kicks in and you don't think of anything else but killing and surviving.'

'But are you scared now?' She asked.

I looked over at Dimitri, the love of my life, the true other half of me. It scared me to think that I might lose him today. Then I looked at Tomas, he wasn't really close to me, but he was so ruled by his emotions that there was a chance he might fail and get himself killed or worse. Next was Eddie, my best guy friend since Mason, the one person who had always been there to laugh with me, look after me, I was scared at the prospect of this being the end of him. Then there was Lissa, sat innocently next to me, really having no clue as to what awaited her. I was scared this would be too much and I would lose her, or Rosie would be left alone because of the loss of her. Yes, I was scared. I wasn't scared for myself, myself I could handle. But I was scared for the people in this car, the people that I loved and care about.

'Yes, to an extent I'm scared. And I'm sure if you ask every person in the car, they would give you the exact same answer.'

'Even Dimitri?' Lissa asked, shocked.

'Yes Lissa, even Dimitri.' I laughed. Dimitri obviously found this funny too because I saw the corner of his lips tilt up into one of his much loved half smiles.

We remained in silence for the rest of the trip, no one really knowing what to say. It was one of those situations where it felt wrong to talk because although we were going in to this with a full team of guardians, the chances were, we wouldn't come out with them.

'We're here.' Dimitri suddenly said, pulling up into a parking lot, leaving the car under a street light.

'Looks like it is now or never right?' I said, climbing out the car and holding the door open for Lissa.

I surveyed the area and so far all was clear. There was no nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach and the only figures I could see were the other guardians climbing out of their cars and watching the area like me.

'There is the house.' Eddie pointed out.

I turned in the direction he was highlighting to see where we would have to go. In the corner of the park there was a two story, thatched house. It had probably been there for a hundred years by the look of it, but it was ideal for the strigoi to hide there, no one would go in there because it looked like a death trap and with Christian and Karp in there, it was exactly that.

With Tomas and Eddie on either side of Lissa, the three of them glided forward, ready to meet their fate. I started to follow, but Dimitri snaked a hand around my wrist and pulled me back to him.

'Rose.' He said, pain in his voice at the unknown before us. 'Promise me you'll come back to me.'

I looked up at him steadily. This was one promise I was determined to keep for him. 'I promise, not even death is going to keep me away from you. But you have to swear the same to me.'

He nodded solemnly. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

We started to walk forward, but as he dropped my wrist, I wound my own hand around his arm. I yanked him back to me and immediately threw my arms around his neck, pulling his lips down to mine. The kiss was the epitome of pure love, nothing else flowed between us, there was no lust or animal need; this was just dedication, our powerful need for each other's love. Dimitri moved his arms to around my waist and picked my up so my legs were wrapped around him. I preferred this, it meant I could reach him without having to stand on my tiptoes. He deepened the kiss for an extra second before we broke away, much too soon for my liking, but we needed to get our heads in the game, gasping slightly, I placed my forehead against his.

'I love you Comrade.' I whispered.

'I love you too.'

He dropped me down to floor and together we followed the others forward towards the house. It took a little while, but before we could get halfway to the house, nausea shot through me like bullet and I knew they were close. The sick feeling was too pronounced for them to be in the house, they were outside and they knew we were here. I could feel it.

'How nice of you to join us, Princess.' A harsh high voice snarled. Before the owner could even emerge from the tree, I knew without a doubt that it was in fact Karp who had spoken, and judging by Tomas' stiff posture, so did her. 'Oh and how kind of you.' She continued. 'You brought us some food.'

Karp removed herself fully from the shadows and was now stood still in front of us, waiting for us to react.

Tomas started to move forward, his hand itching for his stake. I could tell that he thought he could end it now, but there was no way that would happen, not with what Karp could do.

'Tomas, stay where you are.' I commanded, hoping that he would actually listen to me.

He stilled and remained where he was – thank you god – but his eyes never left her face. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he was feeling at seeing the one person in this world that he had loved the most, transformed into a monster.

'Tomas?' Karp asked, her harsh tone cutting the midnight air. 'My, my, haven't we changed. It has been a very long time.'

'Too long.' He replied.

'Rosemarie, how stupid do you think I am?' She asked, turning to me and glaring. 'You may as well call in the _surprise _guardians, we are more than aware of their presence.' Okay, that wasn't what I had hoped for. 'And we are more than prepared to handle them.'

Just like that, numerous strigoi stepped out from the shadow, exactly like Karp had done. Quickly counting up the amount, I realised we were evenly matched, if not slightly heavier in numbers, but that didn't ensure us all a safe return, and I wasn't banking on one either.

'Well, Christian, here she is, why don't you do the honours.' Karp said, cheerfully, like she wanted him to cut a birthday cake instead of turn his wife into one of the undead.

'I'd be happy to.'

And at that moment, Lissa came face to face with the monster who was now her husband. I expected her to cry, or scream, or even pass out, but her strength surprised me and she did something completely unexpected. She spoke to him.

'It's weird. You pretty much look the same apart from the red ringed eyes.' She said in bewilderment. 'I thought the change in your appearance would be noticeable, but I was wrong.'

'That is because I haven't changed. I'm still the same, just better. I still want you, I still want you to join me, I still want Rosie as well, and we can be a family again.' He smiled, making her shiver at his exposed fangs. Okay, she was used to seeing him with fangs, but in the smile he just gave her, they looked more deadly.

'As tempting as that sounds, I think I'm going to have to pass. And if you think you are going to lay one finger on my daughter you have another thing coming.' She chuckled sweetly, but the message behind it was deadly. It was weird, even though she had never been a fighter and by appearance she looked like she couldn't hurt a fly, with the anger backing her and sheer determination, I believed that if she tried hard enough, she would have the power to kill him, not easily, but some how.

'She's my daughter too Liss.'

'No, not anymore she isn't. You see, my husband was her father, but he's dead now. And you, you only look like him, you aren't him. You're a monster.' She snarled.

I sensed everything was coming to a breaking point so it was about time I did something about it. 'Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sick of all this chit chat.' And just like that my team attacked.

One guardian approached Karp, and she stared intently at him, trying to get her powers to work, but a frustrated look came across her face when she realised it wasn't working. Before we had left, Dimitri had made sure every guardian had some sort of charmed piece of silver on them, because my guess was that the healing spirit could take away the harmful one, and I had been completely right. Now Karp was no more of a threat than any of the others, she was going to have to fight to stay alive.

Just as a strigoi pounced on me, I saw Christian take off and Lissa chase after him.

'Lissa! No!' I yelled after her, but it was too late. He was leading her to the house where he could corner her, and she was thinking too much with her heart and not enough with her head to get her thoughts straight.

My eyes widened with alarm as I realised that I couldn't get to her. I was in too deep here, there was no way I could help her. Blocking one of the strigoi's hits, I noticed Dimitri, pulling a stake out of the one he had just been fighting and steeling a glance in my direction, then over to where Lissa had run off to. He stared at me, a small smile tilting his lips, and then he shot after her, knowing that is what I wanted. Another strigoi knocked into the one I was fighting, causing the distraction I so desperately needed and in a second I had staked him and was running towards the house, after the two most important people in my world.

As I was nearing the house, I felt the most powerful explosion of spirit shoot through me. I had never experienced anything like it and neither had Lissa. It was pure and warm and wonderful. It was... life. I pushed myself harder, increasing my pace and within a second I was inside, staring at the floor, where Lissa held Christian, his head cradled to her chest. I didn't understand what was going on. They were both sobbing, frame shaking cries, and Lissa was smothering his face with kisses.

I looked over at Dimitri who was stood, staring in the same amazement that I was. Had what I think just happened, really happened? Was Christian, Christian?

'Lissa, I think you should move away.' I said levelly.

'No Rose, you don't understand... he's back.' She stuttered, not quite believing her own words. 'I felt it, didn't you?'

'You can't be sure.' I said gently, beckoning for her to join me.

'I am, look at his eyes. They're normal again.' She insisted, holding Christian tighter to her.

Dimitri stepped forward, stake at the ready, just in case, and turned Christian to face him. I heard Dimitri... gasp? Yes, that is right, I just heard _the_ Dimitri Belikov gasp. 'She's right Rose, he's normal?'

Christian sobered up and shifted into the sitting position, looking at Dimitri, confusion furrowing his brow. 'What's Belikov doing here?' He asked.

'Jesus Christian, do you really think now is the right time to ask the question?' I snapped, then smiled. 'Liss, you must be right, he has to be back, because his sense of timing has completely gone out of the window yet again.'

Christian scowled at me, then a guilty expression snuck onto his face. 'Rose, I'm sorry for what I did to you... I didn't mean-'

I cut him off with a shake of my head. 'It wasn't you, I don't blame you.' Suddenly my stomach lurched, indicating that another strigoi was close. 'Dimitri, there is someone coming, and I don't mean one of us.'

'Get them out Rose.' He ordered, his guardian mask slipping into place and a look of pure concentration taking over.

'But-'

'Now!' He warned.

I did as I was told and threw both Lissa and Christian to their feet and dragged them out of the building, through the back way. As I moved away the nausea faded, but the noise in the house, told me that Dimitri was having a hard time and needed me.

Once we had gotten a safe distance away I turned to Lissa. 'Lissa, I need you to stay here okay?'

She nodded, I could tell that whatever had happened with the spirit and turning Christian back had taken a lot out of her, so I was relieved she agreed to stay put.

'Rose, where are you going?'

'I'm going back to help Dimitri.' I called over my shoulder. As I ran I saw Eddie approaching me, at a fast pace matching my own. 'Christian and Lissa are over there, watch them' I said. He gave me a wondering look but I just shook my head. 'Don't have time to explain, just don't stake him whatever you do.'

I ran faster than I think I have ever run before. I needed to get to him, I couldn't let anything happen. Even though he was more than capable of looking after himself, how could I rest knowing his life was in danger.

When I got inside, it didn't surprise me to find that Karp was the one fighting him. It had to be her, because she was quite easily becoming the biggest pain in the ass ever. She hadn't heard me come in because she was too wrapped up in her deadly dance with Dimitri, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of my presence. His eyes widened with alarm as he spotted me and he was begging for me to turn around and go back out. But we were in this together and nothing was going to make me turn my back on him.

When her back was completely turned to me, I lunged, landing solidly on her back and slicing the stake down the side of her face. She shrieked in pain and fury and clawed at me, trying to throw me off. I felt like I was on a bucking bull at the rodeo with her powerful jolts. But eventually she managed to get hold of me, and threw me across the room, my head smashing into the solid stone walls.

I lay there in stunned, painful silence for a minute, then I opened my eyes. Spots were impairing my vision, but I could see that Dimitri and Karp were back to their deadly dance. Dimitri's eyes kept flittering back to me, to see if I was okay, which I was one hundred percent sure that I wasn't.

I tried to push myself up, to sit up, but my head was throbbing too powerfully and I couldn't will my limbs to move. I managed to shift slightly, but to my utter horror, I couldn't prevent the cry of pain that escaped me, causing Dimitri to lose focus and get knocked to his back on the other end of the room to me.

'By your actions it proves that you fear loosing this one, more than you fear your own death.' She smirked, running to me at impossible speed. 'Looks like I'll have to deal with that doesn't it.'

She looked up, a nasty smile forming her lips. I followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at. On the side of the room that I was on, there was only one thick pillar holding the roof up. Just one pillar in the way of her finishing me off quickly and efficiently.

Dimitri got to his feet, but he wasn't quick enough. Managing to shake off my disobedient limbs, I painfully threw my arms over my head for cover, just before she punched through the panel causing the wood and other debris, along with the heavy pillar, to come crashing down on me.


	26. Chapter 26

I blinked a couple of times, slowly coming around. Well, at least I knew I wasn't dead yet, I was however still trapped under the rubble of the roof. I wondered how long I had been out, but my guess was not very long when I heard the painful high pitched scream of Karp, after I imagine getting staked, or so I hope that was the cast anyway.

I heard the heavy thud of footsteps approaching me, then Dimitri's panicked yell. 'Tomas, go get help!' There was a silence in which I didn't have a clue what was happening, it was really inconvenient not to be able to see. 'Now!' Dimitri boomed.

My head was still pounding and I felt the almost unavoidable tug of unconsciousness, trying to pull me back into its icy depths. 'Rose!' Dimitri cried frantically. 'Rose, can you hear me?'

I tried to speak, but my mouth was full of all the shatter rocks that had broken off from the bigger debris that had fallen. 'Roza please.' He begged, the pain in his voice breaking my heart. 'If you can here me, just say something, do something, I don't care, and just let me know you are still with me.'

I tried to wiggle a bit, speaking was apparently impossible, but maybe if I could move slightly, he would see and know that I was still conscious of sorts. 'You promised me Roza. You promised me that you wouldn't let anything happen. You've still got to keep that promise.'

'Dimitri, what's going on?' A familiar voice asked frantically. Eddie.

'She's under there. We need to get her out.' Dimitri yelled.

I heard no approach of footsteps so I'm guessing either Eddie ran off to help Tomas get people, or he was frozen. I think the first one was more likely though.

'What about Lissa and Christian, what should I do about them?' Eddie asked. Oh, so he was still there, nice to know he was helping get me out.

'I don't care! Do what the hell you like. All that matters is getting Rose out of this alive.' He snapped, as if it was the most obviously important thing in the world. 'Now are you going to help me or not?'

'We need to start by moving all the rocks, and then we can see what we're dealing with.' Eddie instructed confidently.

I felt the shuffle of debris at Dimitri and Eddie's intrusion. It was comforting to know that they were there. 'Rose, we're going to get you out of this, do you hear me? You're going to be fine.'

I took a sharp intake of breath. It was hard to breath with the pillar that Karp had punched through, leaning lazily across my body. With that breath however, I inhaled loads of the dusty crap around me, causing me to cough harshly.

'She's over here somewhere.' Dimitri called relief apparent in his voice. 'Rose, can you talk to me, just let me no you are alright.'

After coughing my mouth seemed to have cleared somewhat. However it was so dry I didn't know if I was going to be able to make any audible noise. 'Dimitri?' I croaked, barely above a whisper. It was a good job that he had quietened down, waiting for my response, otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have heard me.

'I'm here Roza, I'm right here. I'm going to get you out.' He promised, the sound of debris being removed increasing in pace. 'How badly are you hurt?'

My eyes started to drift closed, but I flung them open, determined to stay awake long enough to see his face. It was apparent I had some kind of head injury, but how severe I didn't know. I couldn't be sure about the rest of me, I was staying as still as possible, partly because I was obviously pinned down, and partly because I was too scared to move because I was sure that would ignite the pain I was bound to feel. In some ways, I was numb though.

'I don't know.' I whimpered, hating that my voice had given way in showing how scared and vulnerable I was feeling. 'My head hurts a lot, and I'm really tired.'

'I know you're tired, but you've got to stay awake until we get you out okay? Can you do that one thing for me?' He asked forcefully.

'Yes.' I sighed.

There was silence for a while, and thankfully I felt the crap on top of me start to lighten, I was hoping that meant they were removing most of it. There were more people in the room now, all helping. Thankfully I hadn't heard Lissa come, I didn't want her coming in and freaking out, her duty was to Christian at the moment, I didn't want her worrying about me too.

'Rose, are you still awake?' Dimitri called softly.

I mumbled something unintelligible, sleep being more prominent now than it had been earlier. 'Rose!' He ordered. 'Answer me.'

'Still present Comrade.' I muttered.

'We need to get her out, now!' Dimitri panicked, his voice wavering in fear as he spoke.

Suddenly, without warning, a light broke though above me, and I could feel the morning sun beaming down on me. It was morning already, wow; I had been under here a long time.

'Got her!' Eddie called.

'Thank God.' Dimitri sighed; I could hear his voice getting closer and closer to me. 'What are you waiting for Eddie? Why aren't you moving her?'

'We need to move the pillar.' He stated. Well, if they had asked me, I could have told them that.

'Everyone, I need you over here now!' Dimitri barked impatiently.

And at that point I zoned out, I fell into the darkening depths I had been trying so hard to avoid. I thought I had done well to avoid them for so long, but I knew it was inevitable; the only thing I could hope for was that I woke up.

'She's drifting.' Someone called from close by. I felt hands start to slide under me, but then they stopped when the same voice yelled. 'Dimitri, don't move her yet, feel gently along her back, and make sure she hasn't broken anything, you don't want to cause anymore damage.'

Dimitri did as he was told. 'No, everything seems to be okay. We need to get her help quickly though. Roza, come on, open your eyes for me, let me see you.' He pleaded, I was jiggling now, from Dimitri's running, I guess he was carrying me then.

Begrudgingly I opened them, to find Dimitri's dust covered appearance looking down on me. His eyes were full of fear and angst and I had realised that this was the most I had ever seen him become unhinged through sheer panic.

'There we go.' He smiled down at me sadly. 'Now you need to keep them open until I tell you that you can go to sleep, go it?'

'So pushy.' I grumbled, receiving myself a strained chuckle from Dimitri.

Finally after what felt like a lot of running, we got to a car, where Dimitri slipped into the back seat, me cradled to his chest.

'Drive.' He commanded.

Whoever was in the driver's seat did as he or she was told, no comment being made. There was a silence in the car, I wanted to turn and see who was accompanying us on the ride, but I couldn't turn my head, my neck hurt too badly.

There was a muffled sobbing coming from the front seat however, and it as a sob I recognised. It was Lissa. This was what I wanted to avoid. She was completely exhausted from the events of today and I didn't want my accident to drain her anymore, unfortunately I just didn't have the energy to tell her so, so instead I started to close my eyes, the thought of sleep much more appealing.

'Remember what we talked about. No closing your eyes.' Dimitri said in a warning tone border line panicky.

'You need to keep talking to her then, give her a reason to have to stay awake.' Someone said. Christian?

Dimitri nodded and smiled down.

'Please, can I just sleep for a little while? Then just wake me up?' I asked, I thought I was being reasonable enough.

'No.' He growled.

'Why not?' I whimpered, my head starting to pound louder and more painfully than before. It was like I had a chainsaw going off inside my head.

'Because I can't be sure that you will wake up again, so I'm not taking a chance, we have too much to do before you go to sleep for good.'

I looked up at him expectantly, beckoning him with my eyes to continue.

'Don't you want to make sure we get to do them?' He asked quietly.

'Depends what you want to do.' I mumbled, I opened my eyes wider, when I started to feel them slanting slightly.

'Well, we need to get a bigger house together, one with more rooms. We need to get married, would you like that?' I nodded, then winced at the pain shooting through both my head and neck. It touched me that this is what he wanted, even though it would be deemed irresponsible and looked down on by so many people.

'And we need to have kids.'

'We can't have kids.' I whispered sadly, even though there was nothing I wanted more than to have kids with him and give him everything he ever wanted and more.

'We can adopt, we would love them just as much wouldn't we? We could give a baby a life they would never have had if it wasn't for us.' He smiled.

'Then we need to have a first family Christmas, do the house up really over the top, like those families you see in the movies, putting up so many decorations it is borderline embarrassing. We have to take our kids to school at the academy and teach them to be guardians. We need to retire together, sit grey haired in the back garden, watching out grandkids running around. We have so much to do. We can't miss out on that can we?'

'No, we can't.' I murmured. 'I didn't know you thought about this sort of stuff.'

'Of course I do.' He chuckled. 'I have our whole future planned out, we just need to start living it.'

I gave him a small smile. My eyes tearing slightly. I don't know why I was crying, I think it was a delayed shock reaction or something, but either way it made me feel like a right idiot. I hated people seeing this side of me, even Dimitri, but for once I didn't care, if anyone had reason to cry today it was me.

Dimitri wiped away a stray tear as it made its way down my face. He knew how I felt about people seeing me like this, so he did it without letting anyone know I was crying.

'Before any of that can start though, you need to do one thing for me?' He asked quietly, so no one but us could hear.

'Anything.' I promised.

'Marry me?' He asked, his eyes never leaving mine. His whole expression exuding love and care and longing. It was so much it made me choke up even more.

'Of course.' I whispered. Wanting nothing more than the kiss him, slowly and tenderly, but unfortunately I knew I couldn't, not now anyway.

'We're here.' Christian said.

Before I knew it I was out the car, Dimitri hurtling towards courts infirmary. As soon as we entered the infirmary though, I felt I couldn't defeat sleep anymore, and through no choice of my own, I was taken from the waking world and suffocated by the smothering realm of sleep.

Beep. Beep. Beep. I woke up to the annoyingly insistent beeping machine that was hooked up to me. I was relieved to find that my head was no longer throbbing and all I felt was a little sore and a little achy.

I turned my head from side to side to see whether I was alone in the room or whether I had company. I had expected to find either Lissa or Dimitri, who I did find however gave me a bit of a shock.

Sitting, crossed legged on the visiting chair, in a long white doctors coat that swamped her, being more than four sizes too big for her, and a stethoscope around her neck with a hospital clip board in front of her was Rosie.

Although I hated waking up in hospitals, if she was sat there dressed like that every time, I wouldn't mind.

'Rosie, what are you doing?' I laughed, my throat scratching painfully, making me sound like a chain smoker.

'I'm watching over you Aunt Rose. Uncle Dimitri fell asleep, so Momma told me to keep an eye on you while she went to see daddy.' Rosie explained.

'That's very kind of you sweetheart, but what I meant was, why you dressed like are a...?' I trailed off, not really sure what she was supposed to look like.

'A doctor.' She announced proudly. 'Because Momma said I could and I wanted to help you get better.'

'Well it worked Rosie, look, I'm awake now, I'm all better.' I reassured her, smiling warmly at the angel I have the pleasure of calling my goddaughter.

'I told Momma that I could make you better.' She chirped. 'I'm gonna go tell her you're awake.'

And off she toddled, holding her head high, proud at her newest 'achievement' and at the same time, tripping over the long coat.

'Hello sleepy head.' A deep Russian accented voice whispered.

I jumped, not knowing anyone else was in the room. I shifted my gaze from one side of the room to the other and still nothing. Where the hell was he?

As if Dimitri knew what I was thinking he popped up from the side of the bed. His hair ruffled, most of it pulled loose from his elastic band. The left half of his face was creased from sleep.

I lifted my hand and placed in on his marked cheek, then he brought one of his warm calloused hands up to place over mine, holding my touch in place, never wanting me to let go. I have to say, I have never been as happy to see him as I was at that moment.

'Please tell me you didn't sleep on the floor.' I asked, really regretting the fact, if he had had to do that.

'I was on a mattress.' He replied, leaning over and giving me sweet peck on the lips.

'Why didn't you just go home, I wouldn't have minded.' I whispered, touched at his unwillingness to leave me alone.

'I couldn't, not without you and I didn't want you waking up without me there.' He really was the most wonderful person in the world to me and my chest swelled at his generosity. 'Thank you.' He whispered, leaning further into my touch than before.

'For what?' I asked. If anything it was him who needed to be thanked. It was down to him that I was here and alive.

'Thank you for waking up. Thank you for staying awake while I was getting you here.'

A confused expression flittered across my face as I remembered all the facts. One of them however I wasn't sure if I had just dreamed up or is if it had happened.

'What?' He asked concerned. 'Cant you remember any of it?'

'No, no.' I reassured him. 'I can.'

'Then you remember what you agreed to?' He was edging to what I was sure I was thinking about. Maybe it had been real after all. Maybe he had asked me what I thought he had asked me.

'I agreed to marry you.' I stated, a huge smile breaking out over my face, causing the same to happen to him. It was rare when I got to witness a full smile from Dimitri, but when I did, they always made my heart stop.

'And are you still sure you want to? You didn't agree just because of the drama and everything that was happening?'

'No, I want to be with you forever, and I would like nothing more than to be officially yours in every way possible. I love you so much and I want to be your wife.' I laughed, my eyes watering. I was seriously going to have to stop with the tears, it was so not me.

'I love you too, my fiancé.' He chuckled, leaning forward and capturing my lips in his.

'I like the sound of that.' I mumbled against his kiss.

This was my life now. I had everything I wanted and more. I had a future ahead of me, with he love of my life. We had everything planned out and we were going to be a proper couple and hopefully, eventually a proper family. A love like ours was hard to find and I knew I had to hold onto it for all it was worth. Not many people get a second chance, and luckily I was not one of those people. We would not screw up this time. This was Dimitri and I, out in the world, and without a doubt, we would be together forever.

**Well, I hope you liked this chapter, please review it and let me know what you thought. The next chapter will in fact be the last for this story. I feel the story has gone as far as it can go. Rose has got her happy ending, so there is nothing more to write about really. The next chapter will be wound forward a year to show how Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, Christian and Rosie's lives have progressed. **

**Thanks for reading xxxx**


	27. Chapter 27

**So, here it is... the last chapter, hope you like it x**

Two years later (Rose and Dimitri's first wedding anniversary.)

'Happy Anniversary.' Dimitri murmured softly to me, bringing me out of my sleepy slumber.

'Happy anniversary to you too Comrade.' I replied, turning over to face him and reaching out to caress his stubble covered cheek.

Lying there, staring into his deep chocolate eyes, filled with love, lust and passion, I couldn't quite believe that this wonderful man was all mine, and had been officially for the last year. It was insane to think that we had been married a full twelve months, it didn't seem five minutes since our wedding day, and now here we were, celebrating our anniversary a whole year on.

Dimitri and I had had a small ceremony in the gardens surrounding Lissa and Christian's house. We didn't want some huge lavish wedding, the whole circus act just didn't appeal to us. We had been through so much together, and we didn't want our wedding to be arranged for our guest's entertainment. We wanted it to be a small intimate gathering, only the people close to us attending. The ceremony was beautiful; Lissa had really outdone herself with all the decorations, it had looked amazing. Dimitri's family had flown over for the wedding and for once my mother had taken time out of her busy schedule and come to see me. Obviously, Lissa, Rosie, Christian, Eddie, Adrian and my old friend Mia came as well.

The day was everything we had wanted and more. It was so intimate and special, it was exactly what Dimitri and I had hoped for. It was without a doubt the best day of my life – how cliché is that? I never thought I would be one of those women saying that about her wedding day, but then again, I never thought I would get the pleasure of having a wedding day.

Surprisingly, the year after Christian was returned to his old self, it was pretty uneventful. And to be honest, I was glad for normality and boredom to return, it was refreshing to not have to worry about anything but the usual trivial stuff. Christian wasn't exactly welcomed back to the Moroi and Dhampir community with open arms, but eventually people started to settle when they saw him, and not fear him. We are still not one hundred percent sure as to what happened when Lissa saved him, we know it was something to do with the spirit enhanced stake Lissa later informed me she had used, but still, it was hard to get our heads round it. The biggest fear everyone harboured, was that he might suddenly change back, because the spirit effects were only temporary, but thankfully that was not the case.

Lissa and Christian were as happy as ever now that all was right in their world again. Rosie was now five and was getting ready to attend the academy soon. She had grown up so fast, and we were all sad to see her going to school, the only plus side was that both Lissa and Christian had been offered jobs there, Christian teaching defence classes for moroi who want to use their element power as defence against strigoi, Queen Tatiana had finally agreed that it would be in both the Dhampir and Moroi best interest if they could at least defend themselves enough to ensure they were safe until further help came. And Lissa was at the school, helping in the infirmary with her healing, and they had received more students – not many, but a few – that held the spirit element and needed help in knowing how to use it, so she was now also teaching those few.

Obviously Dimitri, Eddie and I had gone with them back to the academy where we had spent most of our lives. Going back there was strange, I had become me there, I had undergone some of my most life changing experiences there and of course, it was there that I met the love of my life. It wasn't just us three going with Lissa and Christian though, they now had a nine month old son, Eric. They named him after Lissa's father.

Dimitri and I still agreed that we wanted to adopt a child some day. We wanted to adopt a Dhampir who wouldn't have the upbringing that they deserved. We had researched and found out that there was a children's home in Russia for children and babies whose blood whore mothers had abandoned them, loving the thrill of the endorphins of being bitten more than they loved their kids, and their children weren't old enough to attend an academy yet, so they were just left in a children's home. However although Dimitri and I knew we were stable and happy, we wanted time to adjust to being married and get used to being ourselves again before we welcomed a new member into our family. I knew it wouldn't be long though, and to be honest, something I never thought I would ever say, I am really looking forward to becoming a mother. I think I will be good at it, and as for Dimitri, Dimitri is already in father mode, all he needs is someone to be a father to.

'Do you want you present now or later?' He whispered seductively in my ear, his strong arms wrapping tightly around my waist.

'That depends.' I sighed. 'Does it involve getting out of bed?'

He released me and turned to the bedside on his side of the bed, then quickly turned back to me again. 'Nope, I've got it right here.' He chuckled, handing me a thin envelope. If he had just got me a card for our first anniversary, he was seriously going to be sleeping somewhere else tonight.

As if reading my mind, he raised one eyebrow at me. 'And don't worry Roza, it isn't just a card.'

I nodded and ripped the seal messily and quickly. Curiosity had gotten the better of me and I really wanted to know what was inside the envelope. Slowly, I stuck my fingers inside and felt thin paper. It was too strong to be money or anything like that thank god, but I knew Dimitri wouldn't give me money anyway, that was kind of a cop out anniversary present.

I pulled the paper out and looked down at it. There were two... plane tickets to Russia. We were going to Russia?

'We're going to Russia?' I asked, a small smile making itself known on my face.

'Yes, I cleared it with Lissa and we're going just before school starts.' He replied, watching carefully for my reaction. There was something I was missing, I was sure of it, but he was desperate for me to figure it out.

'So, are we going to stay with your family?' I asked, still not understanding what I was missing.

'Yes.'

'It will be nice to go and see them; we haven't seen them since the wedding.' I smiled. It had been a year since we had seen them, and I knew Dimitri missed them, it would be great for him to spend some time with them.

'Rose, although that is going to be great, that's not the main reason we are going.' He stated, judging my reaction carefully.

I looked at him questioningly.

'I was thinking maybe we could check out that children's home.' I heard a gasp before I could register that it had come out of my own mouth. Dimitri completely misinterpreted my reaction however and started trying to reassure me. 'We don't have to make any decision or anything, if you're not ready, but I thought we could look and visit, just get an understanding of the procedures we would need to undertake to adopt.'

'Would you be willing to finalise an adoption this soon?' I asked I didn't want him to think I wasn't ready, because I was; I was so ready for us to move from a married couple, into a family.

'Would you?' He questioned, his gaze probing mine.

'Yes.' I answered honestly.

'Me too.'

'So this is it then... we're seriously going to go forward with adoption?'

A full smile spread across his gorgeous mouth, his whole face lighting up. 'Yes, we actually are.'

I threw my arms around his neck and held tightly to him. I loved this man more than anything in the world. It was hard to think that once I had thought my life would consist of nothing but guarding, and now... now I was happy. I had an amazing job, an amazing husband, a healthy happy best friend, and now I was going to get the one thing that would make everything in my life complete.

It's funny how things work out, I had never imagined that what happened to Lissa and Christian, and the hurt I had injured from it, could have brought me such happiness afterwards. Now all that was left to do was forget about the hurt and betrayal I had in my past, and embrace my upcoming future. And one thing was for sure, with my loving husband beside me, I knew I could handle anything else the world decided to chuck at me.

**And that is it; this part of story has finally come to an end. I hope you liked it and please review and let me know what you think of the ending. I want to say thank you to everyone who has read the story and reviewed, it means a lot. I was going to say the end at the end of the story, but I am going to carry it on and make it into a sequel, the next instalment will be up soon and it is called 'Defeating the Darkness'. It will follow Dimitri and Rose as they adapt to their new life, back at the academy and try and overcome new problems that present themselves. So please give it a read. xx**


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